Ejércitos Magazine | Focus

The new US Arctic Strategy 2024

12/09/2024 Gonzalo Vazquez Orbaiceta

The United States, despite its military, economic and diplomatic potential, has maintained a somewhat hesitant stance in recent times in relation to the Arctic. This stance has made it easier for actors such as Russia to become stronger in the region and for others such as the People's Republic of China to gain increasing influence in a crucial space for its resources and - thanks to the melting of ice - as a future route for maritime trade. With the new Arctic Strategy 2024 recently published - which comes just two years after the 2022 strategy - Washington intends to reverse the current state of affairs, putting in black and white the main lines of action that the North American country will seek to follow during the coming years, promoting cooperation with its neighbors and close allies, and seeking to achieve adequate preparation to carry out deployments in the region. Index Introduction States [Keep reading…]

Underwater mining

25/07/2024 Augusto Conte de los Ríos

The seabed represents one of the last unexplored frontiers of our planet. They host unique biodiversity and significant mineral resources that have the potential to impact the global economy and environmental sustainability. This focus aims to explain the geopolitics of the seabed in relation to underwater mining, highlighting international treaties, the technological capabilities of various countries, the exploration projects and vehicles used, and the strategic and economic implications[1]. Seabed mining has become a hot topic in global geopolitics, generating intense debates about the future of underwater resources. This new field of mineral exploitation promises access to valuable metals critical to modern technology, but also raises serious environmental and ethical concerns, as well as being the subject of intense and growing competition. The world heritage ocean floors, which cover about 65% of [Keep reading…]

Report on Spain's Maritime Strategy 2024-2050

19/06/2024 Augusto Conte de los Ríos

The General Directorate of the Merchant Navy has prepared a report on the “Maritime Strategy of Spain 2024-2050”[1], complemented by the “National Maritime Security Strategy 2024” published in the BOE of May 27, 2024 (Order PJC /501/2024). A report that aims to offer a comprehensive vision of Spain's plans and objectives in the maritime field, with an international comparison that includes the United States of America (USA) and the People's Republic of China (China) and that seeks to help with the objective of consolidating Spain as a relevant player worldwide in maritime terms. Index Introduction International comparison of fleets International comparison of maritime strategies SWOT analysis of the Maritime Strategy of Spain CAME analysis and recommendations Conclusions Introduction The report “Maritime Strategy of Spain 2024-2050” aims to analyze the situation in Spain, with the intention of consolidating it as a relevant actor in the [Keep reading…]

Point defense system of the USS "Carney" facing a Houthi missile

Hamas' war against Israel (VII): the Red Sea crisis

05/02/2024 Gonzalo Vazquez Orbaiceta

Ten days after the Hamas attack on Israel, which opened a new chapter in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Yemen's Houthis announced that they would attack any merchant ship suspected of having ties of any kind to Israel transiting off their coasts. A decision that has opened a new crisis in the Red Sea, with important consequences. Since then, maritime security in that sea, as well as in its approaches from the Indian Ocean, has deteriorated considerably, with a decrease in maritime traffic of close to 90%. Some of the largest commercial shipping companies in the world, such as the Mollers-Maersk group or Hapag-Lloyd, have decided to temporarily suspend the transit of their ships through the region, a decision that has resulted in delays and increased prices (including of insurers). Hamas's war against Israel (I): the Hamas raid The war of [Keep reading…]

Main world routes of submarine communications cables. Source: Submarine Cable Map

Geopolitics of submarine communications cables II

15/12/2023 Mario Gallego Cosme

Hawaii, Andaman and Nicobar or Diego García are just some of the best-known examples of islands and archipelagos that, due to their geographical position, play a leading role from a military point of view. In recent years, in addition, the growing importance of underwater communications cables has been added to this role, which pass through many of these formations, but also through others such as the Canary Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which does not has only increased its geopolitical value. The islands, due to their characteristics and locations - tilted or distant from regional or planetary decision-making and/or trade centers - have frequently been considered territories subordinate to the interests of continental areas. For this reason, the control of certain island spaces, especially those of small size, has been explained mainly in strategic terms, since the mere possession of [Keep reading…]

The security of the seabed is an issue that is gaining importance in recent years, given the relevance of submarine cables and the emergence of new threats. Source - European Security & Defense

The seabed, a new space of interest and dispute

28/11/2023 Augusto Conte de los Ríos

During the second half of 2023, Spain assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for the fifth time. Within this framework, it has been up to the Ministry of Defense to design a series of events and meetings in the field of security and defense with the objective of meeting the goals established by the Coordinating Committee of said ministry. Among all these events, it is worth highlighting the forum “The seabed, a new space of interest and dispute”, organized by the Navy and held on November 16 at the headquarters of said institution[1]. Aware of the strategic value linked to the delimitation of maritime spaces and the growing disputes over the rights to exploit the seabed, the Navy held this forum with the aim of advancing the establishment of measures aimed at guaranteeing the protection and security of the seabed and their critical infrastructures. Forum [Keep reading…]

Image provided by the Israel Defense Forces of one of the boats that were trying to infiltrate the coast (Source: IDF).

Hamas's war against Israel (III): the naval war

20/10/2023 Gonzalo Vazquez Orbaiceta

In the early hours of the last day of the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, waves of Hamas militants assaulted the defenses of the Gaza Strip using paragliders, vehicles and speedboats. An assault that was followed by large volleys of rockets launched at several towns in Israel, all of which has served, together, to plunge the country into a new war just as 50 years have passed since Yom Kippur.[i] Although For obvious reasons, land attacks have grabbed the headlines, the war on the coast has also had its importance, although limited given the superiority of the Israeli Navy. However, what has happened in the last few hours, as well as the possibility of actors such as Hezbollah becoming more directly involved in the conflict, reminds us of the importance of naval forces and opens the possibility that the action [Keep reading…]

Image taken during the BALTOPS 23 exercise, the most important of those that take place in the Baltic. Source - US Navy.

Maritime security in the Baltic

26/06/2023 Gonzalo Vazquez Orbaiceta

During these last years, the profound changes that the international order is experiencing have once again focused special attention on maritime power, as one of the main elements of the competition between great powers. Maritime security, even though it has been neglected in certain periods, has always been fundamental for European countries given the geographical configuration of our continent, little more than an appendix of the great Eurasian mass surrounded by seas and oceans. Europe is surrounded (clockwise) by the Arctic, the Baltic, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the North Sea. All of them are fundamental for the security of the continent, given that each of them has different geopolitical conditions and a different security panorama. Therefore, when considering the maritime-naval dimension of European security, it is appropriate [Keep reading…]

Main submarine cable projects in Spain. Source - Interxion.

Geopolitics of submarine communications cables I

20/02/2023 Augusto Conte de los Ríos

Underwater cables are the true arteries through which the most important raw material of our digital age flows: data. Economies and societies, especially the most advanced ones, depend on their security. The recent sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which has revealed the vulnerability of some of the main underwater infrastructures, forces us to think about their importance and the need to invest more resources in their protection. Also to reflect on the importance of their control and the responsibility that comes with controlling the waters under which they settle, something to which countries like Spain should be particularly sensitive. The submarine communications cable is defined, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as a cable laid on the bottom of the sea, or buried at a shallow depth, intended to transport communications[1]. The routes followed by the cables [Keep reading…]

The new US National Strategy for the Arctic

30/11/2022 Gonzalo Vazquez Orbaiceta

The Biden Administration has recently published – and with some delay – the latest National Security Strategy, also accompanied by the new United States National Strategy for the Arctic. Although its publication may seem insignificant at first glance, given that the focus is currently on the conflict in Ukraine, the truth is that the Arctic is destined to continue gaining prominence in the national security strategies of many countries during the coming decades. The evolution of the climate, the abundant resources and the presence and activities of countries with a coast (or not) on it, point towards a clear growth in its importance. The new United States National Strategy for the Arctic is also published at a delicate and very particular time for the region. Russia, disqualified from the Arctic Council at the beginning of 2022 as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, continues to build icebreaking ships [Keep reading…]