Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.channelnewsasia.com
A NATO official said Russian actions aimed at dissuading NATO allies from supporting Ukraine were a serious security threat and that the alliance’s commitment to defending all its members, including those on the Black Sea, was “ironclad”.
The official said there was a clear need for cost-effective counter-drone capabilities, but that the alliance had already committed to investing more than US$40 billion in counter-drone capabilities in the next five years.
BLACK SEA IS CRUCIAL WATERWAY
For Romania, the Black Sea is a crucial waterway for trade and home to its offshore Neptun Deep project that will make it the European Union’s largest gas producer next year. Neptun Deep was approached by a naval drone in August.
Bucharest has accused Russia of “systematic” strikes on civilian ships but stopped short of attributing individual attacks, citing the need for forensic evidence. Sofia has not blamed Russia, but said some of the attacks seem to benefit it.
The strikes come at a time when Washington is reassessing its military presence in Europe as it focuses on China. The US withdrew 1,000 troops from Romania last year.
“It’s a moment in the transatlantic relationship that Putin likely wants to use,” said a senior Romanian official. “The EU and NATO’s attention is important and their forces are currently focusing towards the north and the Baltics.”
While NATO has reinforced its “enhanced forward presence” for the Baltics and Poland, Joja said it had not done the same in Romania despite Bucharest’s requests.
“Brussels and Washington still don’t seem to have decided whether the Black Sea is fully part of the NATO commitment.”
The Romanian official highlighted Romania’s pressing need for surface-to-air interceptors and radar systems to counter threats.
Joja said the limited availability of cheap interceptor weapons, exacerbated by the war in Iran, was a central problem for the West.
