Defence

US Missile Interceptors Planned for Romania

Top officials in Bucharest, Romania said that the US missile interceptors that are supposed to be installed at the military base in Romania do not interfere with the international weapons treaty. Russia has been against this plan from the beginning. Prime Minister Victor Ponta stated that the anti-missile system, which is to be established in a military base situated in the southern part of the country, does not infringe the intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. However, Russia said that the initiative was against the international weapons treaty. On the other hand, Ponta argued that its country had not violated any law since the anti-missile system is simply a defense mechanism that any nation can adopt. In addition, Prime Minister stated that Romania was not scared by Russia’s aggressiveness and will continue to stand beside NATO.

At first, the Russian foreign ministry official had warned both Bucharest and Washington to drop the plan. If they will not drop the plan, then they will have to face unspecified consequences. Officials from Russia called on Romania and the United States to comprehend their full responsibility for the development of these proceedings, and do away with these plans as soon as possible. However, the Romanian foreign ministry added that the anti-missile interceptors do not apply to the development and testing of these systems, which are aimed to be situated at Deveselu.

Interestingly, Russia does not support this idea that involves inaugurating bases in southern Romania and Poland as well. It is worth mentioning that the base in Deveselu will not only be the first to feature the ballistic missile system, but it will be a controversial one. This technology has been in use since 2004 in the US. It can be installed on United States warships. Aegis Ashore ballistic missile system is considered a land-based version that can be used to track the radar system that has been fitted on US warships for the last 11 years.

It is scheduled to be running by the end of this year and the base is expected to have about 500 employees, including US military, contract staff, and civilian. This project will cost Romania approximately $ 400 million. The base was first built by the Soviet Union in 1952. Washington is keeping with Russia’s increasingly aggressive character or behavior for the last two years. Note that Russia is deploying long-ranged and lethal anti-aircraft defenses in order to keep the western forces out of the core parts, such as Breedlove, Gen Philip, Levant, and Baltic. The issue of Syria can continue for several years due to the fact that both US and Russia have complicated issues in Syria. For instance, Russia has created a large platform for A2/AD and was placed between Lithuania and Poland. These strategies will help counter-terrorists, but the President of Russia said that the United States Ballistic missile interceptors in Eastern Europe can be used to supply dangerous weapons. Moreover, Russia was not happy because the NATO military was moving near its borders.

Many people from the west believe that Putin’s first priority is to safeguard Russian access to warm water seaports and warm water in the eastern Mediterranean. Secondly, they think that President Putin wants to prop up Assad’s regime and lastly, he is trying to counter ISIL work in order to legitimize their approach in Syria. As a result, NATO’S alliance has stepped back so as to take a look at their abilities in terms of the military in order to address the issue of an A2/AD problem. These issues call for investment and responsiveness especially, if they join forces to win the war on terror. The anti-missile system is simply a defensive mechanism that can be employed to defend territories of the United States and Romania and make sure that other countries are benefiting from the US missile interceptor’s effectiveness.

Romania will host land-based missile interceptors known as missile block 1 B, standard missile 3 (SM-3), and the Romanian-based site will be operational before the end of 2015. Romania will not be required to purchase US missile interceptors. Furthermore, it will not be needed to meet the cost of installation and other expenses. This implies that the US will cover all the costs ranging from installation and grounding of the site. Despite the fact that Russia strongly opposes this plan, the anti-missile shield will boost national security as well as deterring risks.