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<TITLE> Jean-Pol Poncelet</TITLE>
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<CENTER><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">New
Forms of Military Cooperation</FONT></FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">In
Europe: the Belgian Example</FONT></FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+2">Belgian
Minister of Defense Jean-Pol Poncelet</FONT></FONT></FONT> </CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Belgium has a long and
deep-rooted tradition in military cooperation with other countries. My
country's size and history as well as its geographical location have made
such cooperation a necessity. I would like to begin by describing the
different types of cooperation Belgian armed forces have developed with
armed forces of other countries and then comment on some of the lessons
learned from these experiences as well as draw some conclusions for the
future. Because Belgium's participation in the Alliance and WEU is very
much the same as that of the other member-states, I will focus my remarks
on Belgium's bilateral and trilateral military endeavors.</FONT></FONT>
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<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">BENELUX COOPERATION</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">After World War II,
cooperation was first initiated with the other two Benelux countries, the
Netherlands and Luxembourg. Since that time, Benelux has always been a
laboratory where cooperation in various fields could be tested before
being extended to a greater number of states.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">As part of Benelux, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium share basically the same ideas
concerning security and the role and functions of the armed forces. One
basic principle is that the armed forces of each Benelux country must keep
their own specificities and may decide on some strategic options
individually according to their own priorities. Belgium, for example, with
the Luxemburg contingent integrated into the First Belgian Mechanical
Division, joined the European Army Corps--the Eurocorps--while the
Netherlands integrated with the German-Dutch Army Corps.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Another basic principle
that the Benelux countries share is that no specialization of military
tasks may take place. Specialization would compel each country to make
harsh choices about who should do what and with what kind of equipment.
And since all armed forces naturally seek to privilege those tasks
involving high technology and highly skilled manpower that greatly benefit
their country's economy, no country would wish to take on the
less-capital-intensive tasks. Also, specialization would vary the degree
of risk undertaken during the different types of military operations, and
we believe that we must all share the burden equally and fairly. Finally,
we agree that each government and parliament must have full sovereignty to
decide about military matters--whether or not to participate in them and,
if so, how. While we believe specialization would hinder rather than help
military cooperation, a significant segment of the population still argues
its case, believing mistakenly that it would produce budgetary savings.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Cooperative Ventures</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">My colleague Joris
Voorhoeve, Defense Minister of the Netherlands, was recently invited by
the Defense Committee of the Belgian parliament to explain the
restructuring of the Dutch armed forces. In his talks he confirmed that
the Netherlands shares the view that their armed forces must be prepared
to execute both defense and security tasks, which implies the need for a
great variety of equipment. But how can we effectively ensure our national
sovereignty within the limitations of our budgetary means? The Benelux
countries have chosen to tackle the issue pragmatically, and task sharing
seems the most promising way to cooperate.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">As part of their joint
efforts, the three Benelux countries' army, navy, and air force identified
areas where they can complement each other. For instance, since the Dutch
Air Force has only a few transport aircraft, Belgium can put its fleet of
12 C-130 Hercules at the disposal of the Dutch army. In return, the Dutch
Air Force can handle the air-refueling of Belgian fighter aircraft during
missions and the Luxembourg army can protect the airfields. All Benelux
country forces are also trying to take advantage of existing similarities
in equipment to develop common technical and operational capacities and to
promote training and operations in common. Under the so-called Admiral
Benelux agreement of 1996, the Dutch and Belgian navies have been brought
under an integrated command.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Successful Operations</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">How have our bilateral and
trilateral cooperative efforts worked in actuality? From November 1994 to
March 1995, a Belgian-Dutch Military Police Monitoring Unit took part in
the U.N.'s "Columbus Operation" in Haiti. The armed forces of
the three Benelux countries also took part in peacekeeping operations in
the former Yugoslavia: Belgian Blue Helmets were present in Eastern
Slavonia while other Belgian troops took part in IFOR-SFOR operations
alongside Dutch and Luxemburg troops. This was a unique opportunity to
test the interoperability of our armed forces. Belgian F-16 fighter
aircraft joined the Dutch F-16 squadron in Villafranca, Italy, and
provided air control and close air support to IFOR and SFOR. Belgian and
Luxemburg troops also worked together in Bosnia-Herzegovina in a transport
unit, in the BELUGA Group, jointly with Austrians and Greeks in the first
multinational military unit ever integrated at such a low level.
Additionally, a Dutch frigate under "Admiral Benelux" command
was sent to the Persian Gulf as part of the Multinational Interception
Force (MIF).</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">NON-BENELUX MILITARY
PARTNERSHIPS</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Belgian armed forces have
also been involved in military operations without their Benelux partners.
Belgian paratroopers took part in rescue operations in Congo-Brazzaville
and a Belgian medical team participated in the Alba mission in Albania.
The first of these operations was the consequence of the historical links
between Belgium and Central Africa; the second was above all a political
gesture of European solidarity. These missions are just two examples of
the need for countries to be able to act autonomously.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">PROPOSALS FOR THE
FUTURE</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Like other bilateral,
trilateral, and multilateral military cooperation efforts developing in
Europe, the cooperative Benelux military operations are somehow only
substitutes for credible European military cooperation within the
framework of WEU. I consider such efforts as only second-best solutions
because they run the risk of renationalizing security and defense policies
in Europe. Joint military endeavors are undoubtedly useful and can be
successful, but they should not remain the only approach.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">From our own experience,
we see the need for every country to preserve its capacity to act
autonomously when confronted with crisis situations and to man its
operational headquarters appropriately and within its means. Countries the
size of Belgium will need to maintain more operational headquarters than
larger countries, resulting in higher personnel and equipment expenses
than larger countries incur. Smaller armed forces do not realize the
savings that large-scale operations do, but still must provide all
essential staff functions and departments.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">I also want to stress the
need for better sharing of Alliance capacities. In a period when the sense
of danger and imminent threat is perceived by the population as greatly
lessened, military expenses are rather unpopular. So the means and
capacities of the Alliance should be used most effectively. Why, for
example, when facing a crisis, couldn't all member-states have access to
Alliance intelligence or logistic support? This is the underlying
philosophy of the CJTF concept, and it seems we should be able to find a
way to extend it to individual countries or groups of countries.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">I would also like to
express my concern about the organizing of military coordination in crisis
situations when no nation can naturally take the lead. During the crisis
in Zaïre, the Belgian Chief of Defense organized a successful
coordination meeting between the different operational authorities of the
countries providing ground troops. This meeting was the first of its kind.
I would like to suggest that for the future we draw up a list of people
within each Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense who can be contacted
in a crisis situation to quickly set up steering committees, since
countries like Belgium do not have military attachés everywhere.
Another suggestion would be that when the need for an evacuation operation
arises, a joint committee of the countries taking part in the operation
could meet as soon as possible under the framework of NATO.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">THE NEED FOR
APPROPRIATE MULTILATERAL COOPERATION</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">During my relatively short
tenure as Belgium's Minister of Defense, I have experienced a new
political sensitivity voiced by both the population and parliament. As
Minister of Defense, I must govern in accordance with their wishes, and
that means drastically limiting military expenses but at the same time
keeping our armed forces ready to take part in all kinds of peacekeeping
operations--sometimes in different places at the same time--and being
prepared to conduct Article 5 missions. For countries the size of Belgium,
this represents an enormous challenge.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Multilateral cooperation
is the only solution. But cooperation implies solidarity, transparency,
and respect for each country's specificities, and smaller countries face
constraints that are a result of their size. However, no one should
disregard the contributions that small countries can make. Navies need
towboats as much as aircraft carriers. In addition, small size can be an
asset in preventive diplomacy, since small countries are often perceived
as neutral, not hegemonistic.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">To conclude, I quote the
famous French fabulist Jean de la Fontaine in his story about the lion and
the rat: "<I>On a souvent besoin d'un plus petit que soi</I>"
or "One is often in need of someone smaller than oneself."</FONT></FONT>
</P>
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