Morocco’s Military Buildup Raises Concerns for Spain and Gibraltar Strait Security

Experts Guillem Colom, doctor in international security, Guillermo Pulido, doctoral student in strategic studies, and Mario Guillamó, graduate in political science and administration, have warned in a study on "the rearmament and strengthening of Morocco’s military capabilities", which is competing with Algeria and claims Ceuta and Melilla, after the United States under Trump recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara. These two elements could threaten peace in the Gibraltar Strait region, they believe.

"Morocco has announced a five-year rearmament plan in which it plans to acquire military equipment for $22 billion," the experts recall. "The competitive increase in the armaments of one country compared to another (assuming they are in conflict) generates distrust about possible offensive intentions and ultimately leads to a crisis situation," they warn.

To read: Morocco’s Military Modernization Raises Concerns in Spain

Morocco has already acquired, with partial financing from Saudi Arabia, about twenty American F-16 Block 50/52 fighter-bombers, and other military equipment, the experts point out, adding that recently again, "many military means have been acquired by Morocco in order to significantly increase its military potential." These include about twenty modern F-16 Block 70/72, two hundred M1-A1 Abrams battle tanks (including 162, updated with the latest available improvements), 24 Apache AH-64E attack helicopters, etc. The experts conclude that this arms race risks leading to "instability" in the region and will also affect Spain with regard to Ceuta and Melilla.

For her part, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles had indicated that she was not considering revising her strategy towards Ceuta and Melilla despite Morocco’s rearmament. It is an "internal affair of Morocco", a country that deserves the "greatest respect", she had declared to Europa Press. Spain is not alone, its defense policy is in line with that of the European Union and NATO, while "Morocco is not a member of the EU or NATO," the minister had added.