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| USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) above |
The
US deployed a ballistic missile defense destroyer to Spain to boost
NATO’s anti-missile shield in Europe. Washington says the deployment is
aimed at curbing possible missile threats from Iran while Russia
considers the move as a national security threat.
The USS Donald Cook will travel to its new home port of
Rota, Spain, as part of the Obama administration's "phased adaptive
approach" for European missile defense. Three other Arleigh Burke-class
guided-missile destroyers are to be deployed to Rota within the next two
years, the Pentagon said in a press release.
"The US
has a historically strong partnership with Spain, and the strength of
that relationship is exemplified today as the first of four US Navy
destroyers departs for Rota, Spain," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in
provided comments. "Permanently forward-deploying four ships in Rota
will enable us to be in the right place, not just at the right time, but
all the time."
Hagel said the US is committed "to
deploying missile defense architecture there," as a part of Phase 3 of
the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA).
The other
three destroyers tasked for fielding in Spain are the USS Ross, USS
Porter and USS Carney. All of the ships are to be equipped with Aegis
systems and Standard Missile 3 Block 1B interceptors designed to defeat
short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats.
The
US Navy estimates that 1,239 military personnel will move to Spain's
port of Rota as part of the EPAA plan, according to the Congressional
Research Service. The move will cost $92 million, with another $100
million being spent annually on maintaining the ships in Spain.
In
the meantime, if the US continues boosting its anti-missile
capabilities through developing its missile defense system in Europe,
Russia may eventually be forced to withdraw from the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START), the Russian Foreign Ministry’s top disarmament
official, Mikhail Ulyanov, has warned.
"We are
concerned that the US is continuing to build up missile defense
capability without considering the interests and concerns of Russia,”
Ulyanov told Interfax. “Such a policy can undermine strategic stability
and lead to a situation where Russia will be forced to exercise [its]
right of withdrawal from the [START] treaty.”
Source: The Voice of Russia
