NATO
November 23, 2022

NATO Allies and Partners discuss maritime security

On 21 November 2022, the NATO Military Committee invited Partner Military Representatives from Australia, Colombia, Finland, Republic of Korea, Morocco, Qatar and Sweden, to a thematic discussion on Maritime Security and related activities.

Opening the session, the Deputy Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Lieutenant General Lance Landrum…highlighted that “because of its global dimension, Maritime Security is key to NATO and its Partners….Before passing the floor, Lieutenant General Landrum also noted the value of such thematic meetings, especially as a platform for strategic discussions and information exchange between NATO and Partners.

NATO Allied and Partner Representatives then received briefings from Australia, Sweden and the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). In his briefing, MARCOM Commander, Vice-Admiral Keith Blount updated participants on NATO’s ongoing maritime activities, including operations, exercises and trainings….“The maritime domain encompasses oceans and seas, on, above and below the surface, in all directions. It is a vast endeavour…across the Alliance’s entire maritime territory and the land area it influences. The reinforcement of coordination and cooperation with Partners is essential to supporting NATO’s efforts in the maritime domain”, he added.

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Through maritime and joint exercises, NATO Allies and Partners are working on maintaining and developing warfighting competencies, building interoperability between NATO and Partners forces as well as improving their overall combined maritime skills and readiness for all operations, international and national. “Last month, Australia contributed a maritime patrol aircraft to NATO’s Sea Guardian mission….Earlier this month, NATO ships were holding manoeuvres in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, bringing together five aircraft carriers, numerous warships and thousands of sailors. So Allied and Partner maritime forces are clearly demonstrating NATO’s ability and resolve to achieve its strategic objectives in vastly different contexts”, noted Lieutenant General Landrum.

Blue: NATO members
Orange: Partnership for Peace members
Red: Mediterranean Dialogue members
Purple: Istanbul Cooperation Initiative members
Green: Partners Across the Globe members
The blue mark east of Colombia is French Guiana.