US Congress earmarks €368,000 for Malta army funds
Malta is to receive some $550,000 (€368,000) in counter-terrorism and non-proliferation funds, a report by the US Department of State reveals.
The funds are the highest amount since the United States suspended its foreign financing to Malta in 2004 because it did not sign a waiver for US army personnel indicted by the International Criminal Court.
The 2010 Congressional justification report states that the funds will go to improve the capacity of the Armed Forces to maintain maritime security.
“Funding will be used to provide training to help professionalize Malta’s officer and enlisted corps as well as maritime interdiction training. This assistance will provide the Maltese access to the US military training system, promote defense reform and modernization of the military, and foster a stronger military-to-military relationship between the United States and Malta.”
Malta is described as “an important partner” of the USA due to regional security concerns, given its location at the crossroads of key Mediterranean transport lanes.
A previous area of concern for the USA was the presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which established the Freeport as its Mediterranean hub in 2004. A joint report by the departments of State and Defense in 2004 had described the Freeport as a “potentially serious weapons of mass destruction transhipment threat compounded by its location near Libya, Syria and Algeria Malta’s “history of lax law enforcement”, and the presence of IRISL which had just set up its hub.
The US came back with a gift: a container scanner. Since then, Malta has acceded to several US requests, notably by ratifying a shipboarding treaty that allows US forces to board Malta-flagged vessels suspected of arms trafficking or nuclear proliferation, amongst other illicit activities.
The new funds will see $150,000 (€100,000) going to military training, and $400,000 (€268,000) for nonproliferation and anti-terrorism training. “Malta is strategically located in the midst of illicit trafficking routes, and funds will enhance the Maltese customs agency’s counter-proliferation and counterterrorism efforts. These programs will be implemented through the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State,” the 2010 budget report states.
The Maltese army was drafted back into the USA’s international military and education training (IMET) programme in 2006, days after president George W. Bush recommended to the Senate to ratify an extradition treaty with Malta.
Malta was rendered ineligible for the US foreign military funds, aligning itself with the EU in publicly refusing to sign an Article 98 agreement, binding it not to hand over US soldiers to the International Criminal Court, the world tribunal which prosecutes war criminals.
A 2004 joint report by the US defence and state departments claimed Malta felt “pressured not to sign” the agreement fearing it might endanger its EU candidacy.
Despite being excluded from IMET funds, Malta was still a beneficiary of non-proliferation and antiterrorism funds in 2006.
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