Cyprus defence ties and military cooperation give it a lead in the region

By Chaitali Bag

Larnaca, Cyprus. 29 September 2021. The year 2021 started on a positive note for defence ties enhancement of Cyprus and that too beyond the Mediterranean, when it signed the agreement with UAE.  And as the year progressed, in the month of June 2021 the United States and Cyprus advanced ahead with creation of partnership in military training and security.

There is a very pleasant and important change which is gradually setting up in this island nation. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus, has started stressing on good and strong bilateral ties and is developing them with both  countries in the Mediterranean region and outside it. In addition, it has concluded Bilateral Agreements or Memoranda of Understanding on Defense Cooperation with Egypt, Armenia, France, the UK, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands and Serbia, while the process of signing similar Bilateral Agreements with other countries is underway. Defense Cooperation Programs have been signed with the many countries and are being implementation is on.

Joint exercises and training programs have very much been the focus, defence diplomacy an aim and stress is on multilateral exercises where the strength of the joint forces and good diplomatic ties are projected to keep the common enemy Turkey at bay.  A new trend which is visible is Trilateral Cooperation programs aiming at strengthening peace, stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean. So there is Cyprus, Greece and Israel; Cyprus, Greece and Egypt and Cyprus, Greece and Armenia. In addition, collaboration with other neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon are also planned. The tripartite cooperation programs include joint exercises and training between the Armed Forces of the 3 countries, without excluding the participation of additional partner countries.

Cyprus Ministry of Defense in its website states, “ In addition, our active defense diplomacy implemented through accredited Defense Attaches (DA’s), strengthens the wider foreign policy of the Republic of Cyprus. For this purpose, DA’s have been appointed in France with parallel accreditation in Italy, in Russia with parallel accreditation in Armenia, in the UK with parallel accreditation in Ireland, in Egypt with parallel accreditation in Jordan, Israel and the USA.”

26 countries have accredited DA’s in the Republic of Cyprus such as Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, Ukraine, and the USA.

One of the strongest military relationship of Cyprus is with UK. The British Army in Cyprus works to a tri-service headquarters called British Forces Cyprus and is tasked with protecting the Sovereign Base Areas {SBAs} and associated retained sites. The Army presence includes two resident infantry battalions and supporting arms such as the Royal Logistics Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal Military Police and others located in both SBAs. The bases, which cover 98 square miles, enable the UK to maintain a permanent military presence at a strategic point in the Eastern Mediterranean. RAF Akrotiri is an important staging post for military aircraft and the communication facilities are an important element of the UK’s worldwide links. The bases can be used for a variety of both military and humanitarian operations. It also gives Cyprus a major sense of security.

British soldiers also serve with United Nations peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP). There is no operational link between British soldiers serving in the SBAs and the British contingent of the United Nations Force in Cyprus.

These soldiers serve on Operation TOSCA, an unaccompanied six month UN tour of duty and are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Buffer Zone that runs between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The Command includes the capital Nicosia and soldiers wear UN (blue) berets. the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was set up in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities on the island and bring about a return to normal conditions; the UNFICYP mission had about 1,000 personnel, including some 800 military troops as of July 2021.

The United States works closely with the Republic of Cyprus to advance shared priorities in the Eastern Mediterranean region.  Cooperation between the United States and the ROC is at a historic high.  The two nations signed on the  Statement of Intent on bilateral security cooperation that they signed with the ROC in late 2018. Since then, their security partnership has continued to deepen, as witnessed by the accreditation of the ROC’s first Defense Attaché at its embassy in Washington, first-time ROC participation in the U.S. International Military Education Training Program (IMET), temporary waiver of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions to allow for the direct commercial sale of non-lethal defense articles and services to and from the ROC, and joint military exercises.  In December 2019, the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 was signed into law as part of the FY 2020 Appropriations Act and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2020, highlighting the United States’ security interests in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including countering Russian malign influence.

So with this backdrop, CYPSEC is all set to discuss the island nation’s  security needs and defence development plans, to embark towards more partnerships  with the industry, to achieve  state of the art status and world class manufacturing and assembly lines . The show is all set to give the buyer, seller, technology and equipment a platform to showcase.