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NATO Expands to Include Montenegro

“The strength of the alliance comes from the willingness of the member states to use force when needed…” 

The Senate voted on Tuesday to allow the nation of Montenegro to join NATO. Critics from the right such as Rand Paul argued that Montenegro is a tiny country that few Americans could locate on a map and that promising automatic assistance violates the Constitution. Critics from the left said this postage stamp of a country would provide very little to NATO and would add little to the fight against Russia. But Montenegro’s incorporation into NATO helps prevent Russian influence in the region and will add to the credible deterrent against Russia.

It’s true that its military is very small. The country fields fewer than 2,000 men, and the entire nation’s yearly budget of 69 million is about the same amount as President Trump’s proposed increase for the US military. (Their spending is also less than the 2% of the total budget required by member nations, though they are planning increases to meet that goal by 2020.) Military analysts are correct when they point out that simply upgrading and training their forces to NATO standards will likely cost more than any potential military contribution the country can make in the case of a fight.

The emphasis on these factors belies the country’s importance. Montenegro is located on the Adriatic coast across from Italy; it borders Albania and Croatia and is near countries such as Romania and Slovenia. All of these countries are members of NATO. Montenegro is farther away from Russian borders than larger and more defensive members of NATO like Poland, which means this move has less chance of seeming like an encircling of the Russians. Excluding Montenegro would leave them as the odd man out in the region and subject them to bullying from Russia.

Russia has very few warm water ports. They recently annexed Crimea, at least in part to secure their port facilities in the city of Sevastopol. They have militarized the Kaliningrad pocket on the Baltic Sea, and Russia has repeatedly asked permission to dock on a semi-permanent basis in the Montenegro ports of Bar and Kotor. Gaining access to these ports would extend Russia’s operational reach and influence in the Balkans and Western Mediterranean. Based on Russian behavior in Crimea and Ukraine, Russia has shown its inclination to force its way into countries, and Montenegro is small enough with vital ports to be a target of Russian aggression. As recently as a few months ago, for example, Montenegro accused Russia of sponsoring a coup against the government.

 

Included within NATO, Montenegro would be a link in the chain of defense. It’s true they would be the smallest and perhaps weakest link, but when they say no to Russian demands, they could then reasonably rely upon German, British, French, and American militaries to protect their sovereignty. The strength of the alliance comes from the willingness of the member states to use force when needed. Montenegro sent troops to fight in Afghanistan, and American and NATO forces have already deployed in the Baltic States. When America avoids the dangers of isolationism and is credibly willing to use force, it acts as a deterrent far beyond the meager number of soldiers in Montenegro.

Morgan Deane is an OpsLens Contributor and a former U.S. Marine Corps infantry rifleman. Deane also served in the National Guard as an Intelligence Analyst.