New winds of cooperation

Yesterday, the historic visit of NATO’s SNMCMG-2 standing force in Haifa base has reached its conclusion. The force conducted the port call as a part of its deployment in the Mediterranean area. It it’s the forces second visit to the shores of Israel, but marks the first time the two navies trained together at sea.

The historic visit included a series of courtesy calls, professional workshops, and expert meetings to deepen the shared knowledge, and a first ever joint PASSEX exercise between Israel and the visiting force. The port call shined a spotlight on the cooperation between the two naval forces and deepened the strategic partnership between the NATO alliance and its partner in the middle east- Israel.

NATO’s standing maritime mine counter measure group 2 is one of the alliance’s four standing maritime forces, operating in the Mediterranean arena all year round. The maritime group specializes in anti-mine and anti-ordinance warfare and is comprised of several naval vessels which together serve a key role in NATO’s defense strategy

“For the Israeli Navy, this port call serves as an important step up that takes our relationship with NATO from the theoretical level into the practical level.” Opens Captain (N) G, head of planning and organization in the Israeli Navy HQ. “This visit is a new and important opportunity to develop our partnership with NATO and bolster our shared impact on the Mediterranean maritime area”.

The new cooperation between SNMCMG-2 and the Israeli Navy is the newest component of a long-standing naval partnership between Israel and NATO, that was strengthened with Israel’s entry to the Mediterranean dialogue forum in 1994. The group’s port call joins a growing list of key meetings between NATO and the Israeli Navy such as the group’s first port visit to Israeli in 2009, the 2020 “crystal sea” maritime medical exercise, and NATO’s SNMG-2 port call earlier this year.

“Israel has been an important NATO partner for more than 20 years and it shares many of its values. We consider Israel a part of the trans-Atlantic family” shares the Commander of SNMCMG-2, Captain (N) Javier Nunez De Pardo.

“In our eyes, the visit has two main goals” elaborates Captain Nunez De Pardo   “firstly, on the tactical level, we try to create a strong and fruitful partnership between my group and the highly professional Israeli Navy. On the strategic level, Israel is a very important actor in the eastern Mediterranean area, with unique insights on other regional actors and non-state actors in the area. NATO’s partnership with her is essential to maintain a broad cooperative network on matters of security.”

“At the end of the day”, emphasizes Captain Nunez De Pardo “we are here to send a very clear message: NATO is committed to its partnership with Israel and the Israeli Navy, and our intention is to continue and develop it

The highlight of the port visit came in the form of a joint PASSEX exercise. the exercise combined the forces of the Israeli Navy’s INS Bat Yam and two naval vessels from SNMCMG-2.

  “The joint PASSEX is conducted purely on the tactical level and doesn’t fully implement any scenario related to any part of the world” explains Captain Nunez De Pardo “the PASSEX consists of serialized exercises at sea that focus on promotion of mutual understanding and improvement of our interoperability at sea”. Captain Nunez De Pardo shares with me that at the core of the exercise, the forces will practice several interoperability and tactics, as well as exercise operating together using Standard NATO communication code. 

The unique element that characterized the maritime group’s port call and will play a role in the developing partnership between it and the Israeli Navy is the shared interest in the world of Mine counter measures, or MCM. The mission is clear: to defend worldwide Naval territories and Trade routes from the threat of mines and empower technical development to keep the operators out of harm’s way.

“Freedom and security of maritime travel is critical to both NATO and all the nations of the world, especially in the worlds of trade and commerce. NATO has two standing maritime groups that are tasked with protecting the global shipping routes from mines and similar threats.” States Captain Nunez de Prado “it is a complex task that requires us to enhance our interoperability not only between NATO countries, but with our partners around the globe as well, especially in the Mediterranean Sea where the threat of mines is more immediate”.

Captain Nunez de Prado’s statements are echoed by Captain G, that points at the strategic value gained from the forming partnership between the Israeli Navy and SNMCMG-2, “from my perspective, this cooperation allows us to send a message to the other actors in the area, and it directly effects the regional balance while strengthening the parties’ deterrence in the area.”

Captain G adds that “the expansion of our partnership with NATO and SNMCMG-2, which includes many different nations and forces, will bolster regional stability and will create many new opportunities for cooperation in fields such as security, energy, infrastructure and collaborative actives in the eastern Mediterranean area.

According to Captain Nunez de Prado, the strategic value of the partnership comes from the joint activities of the two forces. “The success of our partnership comes from regular convergence of the Mediterranean dialogue forum and the increased emphasis on regional cooperation. Across the 20 years of our cooperative work, Israel has been the most important partner of NATO in the eastern Mediterranean area. We must continue to work together.”

Now, with the port call coming to a close and SNMCMG-2 continuing onwards to their next mission, all eyes are set to the future of this new partnership. “Regarding the future” elaborates Captain Nunez de Prado “I hope this port visit is the starting point of a long-lasting relationship, in both the MCM domain and in general. We are tirelessly working towards long lasting regional peace and security, and I hope that the partnership that was formed between my group and the Israeli Navy will allow us to improve together and build security in the region.” 

To the sailors that studied and trained together, Captain Nunez de Prado bid farewell as well “there’s a saying in NATO that says: train as you fight, and fight as you train.” In the same way that the knowledge exchange and exercise were performed with professionalism and commitment, I believe that if we will be faced together against a real threat, our interoperability will allow us to tackle any scenario in the best way possible”.

These words are strengthened by Captain G which concludes by saying “we are happy to host SNMCMG-2 in Israel and we are very proud of our partnership. We see ourselves as worthy partners of NATO and SNMCMG-2, and we are thankful for the opportunity to learn and train together. I fully believe that this new partnership born during this port call will grow to positive places.”