Spanish Media Warns of Rising Tensions with Morocco, Citing Military Buildup

"I believe that a war with Morocco is not impossible. This country has been rearming for a long time, it is no longer the Morocco of the Green March. [...] Morocco does not respect our borders or our autonomous cities. Even Spain sells them warships," analyzes the Spanish media El Correo de Andalucia, which believes that Morocco "gains more respect than Spain in the EU and the United States".

Morocco has steadily increased its military budget for more than a decade, reaching nearly $4.8 billion in 2022, up 57% from 2009 ($3 billion). Morocco’s largest military budget, of over $20 billion, was recorded in 2017, the year the kingdom launched the ambitious five-year plan (2017-2022) to modernize its army.

"Mohammed VI has a "dream": to become the main military power in the region ahead of Algeria, to contain the Polisario Front and promote his own defense industry," the Spanish media also develops.