Ireland plans to boost radar and subsea surveillance capabilities and increase cooperation with NATO members amid growing hybrid threats in the North Atlantic, the country said in its first maritime security strategy on Wednesday.Ireland,
Ireland plans to boost radar and subsea surveillance capabilities and increase cooperation with NATO members amid growing hybrid threats in the North Atlantic, the country said in its first maritime security strategy on Wednesday.
Ireland, which is neutral and has the EU's lowest level of defence spending, has been criticised for its lack of capability to monitor and defend territorial waters that the strategy says cover a "nexus of major transatlantic data cables and critical energy interconnectors".
The publication comes amid growing concerns about the threats posed by Russia's "shadow fleet" of vessels that may be being used also for espionage and sabotage, the document said. Russia has denied such accusations.
The Department of Defence strategy calls for closer cooperation with NATO members Britain and France and says Ireland should look to participate in activities with the Joint Expeditionary Force grouping of 10 North Atlantic NATO member states.
It described such moves as "vitally important".
Cooperation with NATO or the European Union's military powers is highly sensitive in Ireland due to broad support for the country's military neutrality, but the government has said it has no choice but to act.
"If anything happened to gas connectors with Britain, we wouldn't
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