Portugal currently has 118 troops in Lithuania, the country that will host the next NATO summit next Tuesday and Wednesday, still a long way from the allies’ target of 2% of GDP in military spending.
According to data provided by the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA) to the Lusa Bureau, a total of 338 soldiers from the Portuguese Armed Forces, 46 tactical vehicles and six aircraft are currently deployed around the world within the framework of NATO.
In Lithuania, a country whose capital Vilnius will host the heads of state and government of the 31 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) next week, Portugal is participating with 118 military personnel and five aircraft (including four F-16M) in two alliance missions : the ‘Assurance Measures’ and the ‘Baltic Air Policing (BAP)’.
The first mission began in 2014 and consists of a series of activities “of a continued presence on land, sea and air, within and along the eastern border of Allied territory, aimed at strengthening defenses, deterring threats, reassuring the population and deterring potential aggression”. .
The ‘Baltic Air Policing (BAP)’ is an air policing mission that aims to protect Allied territory and the population against “threats and air and missile attacks”, and can also provide support to civil aircraft, for example, when they lose communication with air traffic control .
One of the topics that will be on the agenda at the Vilnius summit is the strengthening of investment by the allies in defense, which must agree to set the target of 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in military spending as a minimum, and not “a ceiling” to be reached (as set in 2014).
According to the NATO Secretary General’s annual report for the year 2022, Portugal was the organization’s 9th member country to spend the least percentage of GDP on defence, equivalent to 1.38%.
The country estimates it will not reach 2% until 2030 and this year the target is to reach 1.66% – a target that was expected, as it was scheduled for 2024.
However, NATO’s forecast is lower. On Friday, the Alliance estimated that Portugal will invest 1.48% of GDP in defense this year, lower than the government’s forecast, which is the largest investment since 2014.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the Allies have strengthened their presence on NATO’s eastern flank, namely in countries such as Romania, where Portugal participates in two missions intended to contribute to the Atlantic Alliance’s deterrence and defense capabilities: the tailor-made Forward Presence’ and the ‘Enhanced Vigilance Activity’.
In the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, Portugal is present in the “Very High-Readiness Joint Task Force Maritime”, which aims “to ensure deterrence and permanent naval capability to conduct naval operations in times of peace or crisis”, and in the the Mediterranean in the mission ‘Sea Guardian’
In terms of representation by department, of the total number of military personnel currently on NATO missions, 202 are from the Army, 133 from the Air Force and three from the Navy. In June, a total of 370 soldiers returned from the mission.
Support for Ukraine will also be one of the Allies’ priorities at this summit. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Portugal has supported the country with military and humanitarian aid, totaling 1,125 tons of material already delivered and still to be delivered, with a “value of more than 18.5 million euros”, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Portugal is also participating in the European Union’s mission to train Ukrainian soldiers and has already indicated its availability for training in Leopard 2 tanks and pilots and technicians of F-16 aircraft.
Besides Ukraine, another priority outlined by the Portuguese government was a “360-degree approach” to threats and concerns for Africa, namely the presence of Wagner group mercenaries in different regions of this continent.
Source: DN
