Spain Flexes Military Muscle Near Morocco, Raising Tensions

The Spanish armed forces have demonstrated their power as part of these exercises which aim to "guarantee" the protection of the population and the territory in strategic regions such as Ceuta, Melilla, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, the waters of the Strait, the rocks and islets near the Moroccan coast. These maneuvers have not been viewed favorably by Morocco where the activity has been described as "massive military maneuvers". "The Spanish army has launched a large-scale military operation, called Sinergia 25, aimed at strengthening its military presence in areas near Morocco," a Moroccan media outlet has warned.

Morocco has constantly claimed its sovereignty over the two enclaves and some Spanish islands and rocks located in North Africa. Moroccan media are closely following the operations of the Spanish armed forces taking place near the Moroccan borders, including presence, surveillance and deterrence missions, involving the Spanish army, navy and air force.

In the Canary Islands, an exceptional deployment was carried out as part of the Eagle Eye 25 operation, which required the involvement of land, naval and air assets. In total, 1,950 soldiers, as well as equipment such as six F-18 fighter jets from the air force, a III-73 Cancerbero anti-aircraft defense unit from the army and the frigate Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) from the navy were mobilized for this exercise.

At the same time, the land operational command deployed a thousand soldiers as part of the Sinergia 25 operation. "In this joint operation, our units exchange information and coordinate their actions with other commands through their tactical operations centers," said Major General Ramón Armada Vázquez. This exercise involved units from the Canary Islands Brigade, the anti-aircraft artillery regiments of Las Palmas and Valencia, the Chafarinas Legion, the Ceuta Tactical Group, both in the autonomous city and on the islet of Perejil (Laila), and the Palma 47 infantry regiment in the Balearic Islands.