Ireland wants to protect the North Atlantic together with NATO countries

Ireland plans to strengthen its radar and undersea surveillance capabilities and intensify cooperation with NATO members in response to growing hybrid threats in the North Atlantic. This is according to the country's first maritime security strategy, published on Wednesday.

The document highlights the need to better protect territorial waters through which major transatlantic data cables and key energy connections pass. The strategy also responds to concerns about Russia's "shadow fleet" of vessels that can be used for espionage and sabotage. Russia denies these allegations.

The Ministry of Defense calls for closer cooperation with NATO members Britain and France and for efforts to participate in the activities of the Joint Expeditionary Force of ten North Atlantic states.

Ireland wants to address shortcomings in monitoring the development of new radars, sonars, and sonobuoys, as well as the use of unmanned vessels and naval drones, over the next two years. In 2023, the country spent approximately 0.2 percent of its GDP on defense, the lowest in the EU.

Although the government claims that its budget of €1.5 billion for 2026 is a third higher than four years ago, it has not announced plans to bring spending significantly closer to the European Union average.

(reuters, max)