Turkey Strengthens NATO Ties With Participation in Large-Scale Neptune Strike Military Drills The exercise comes as Poland declares its willingness to host NATO nuclear weapons, leading Russia to issue a threat By Kristina Jovanovski/The Media Line Along with its NATO allies, Turkey is taking part in a large military exercise, practicing carrying out maritime strikes […]
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The Media Line: Turkey Strengthens NATO Ties With Participation in Large-Scale Neptune Strike Military Drills
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Turkey Strengthens NATO Ties With Participation in Large-Scale Neptune Strike Military Drills
The exercise comes as Poland declares its willingness to host NATO nuclear weapons, leading Russia to issue a threat
By Kristina Jovanovski/The Media Line
Along with its NATO allies, Turkey is taking part in a large military exercise, practicing carrying out maritime strikes to defend soldiers in Eastern Europe. The exercise is taking place amid heightened tension over nuclear warfare.
The military alliance stated that the Neptune Strike 24-1 exercise will deter and showcase NATO’s capabilities for the “uncertain global stage.”
Turkey’s flagship naval carrier, the TCG Anadolu, is participating in a show of solidarity alongside Swedish jets patrolling the alliance’s airspace.
Ankara approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO in January after delaying a decision for over a year and a half. Sweden officially joined NATO in March.
The Reuters news agency reported that the Neptune drills would include long-range flights to simulate strikes in defense of militaries in Eastern Europe.
Aylin Ünver Noi, a professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Haliç University, told The Media Line that the military alliance needs to illustrate solidarity for its deterrence to work, especially in such “unpredictable” times.
“We don’t know how NATO’s deterrence [would] work to prevent Russia’s aggression or to change its behavior with regards to Ukraine,” she said.
Turkey faces multiple security threats in the region, including the war in Ukraine across the Black Sea in the north.
To the south, it borders Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Conflict and political repression in those three countries have brought millions to Turkey in search of refuge.
As a member of NATO, Turkey benefits from being allied with multiple nuclear powers and sharing in the collective defense principle, which states that countries will help a fellow member state if it is attacked.
“Turkey knows how important NATO [is] for its own security,” Ünver Noi said. “We’re living in a very dangerous period.”
In March, Turkey took part in a NATO drill led by Poland, which the alliance said was its largest military exercise since the Cold War.
The Neptune exercise, which started last Friday and will run until May 10, includes using a nuclear-powered French naval ship, which will be under NATO command for the first time.