Ireland in talks to join British-led naval alliance

High-level talks between British and Irish defence officials have begun on Ireland joining the Joint Expeditionary Force, the ten-nation grouping led by Britain, according to The Journal.

Niall O’Connor reports that the Irish government has directed the Department of Defence to progress the plan, and that Ireland will initially work as an observer.

Dublin would not join the core elements of the force but a wider grouping known as JEF+, according to the report, which says Ireland has ruled out participation in what it describes as the more offensive core elements.

Sources told the outlet the arrangement is seen as an opportunity for practical cooperation with like-minded partners on shared security challenges, complementing Ireland’s engagement at European Union level. The key, The Journal reports, is that Ireland would draw on the force’s maritime security apparatus to respond to hybrid threats such as drone incursions.

Military sources quoted in the report were candid about what Ireland brings. Given the limits of Irish naval capability, the report says, membership would essentially amount to a watching brief, though it would also offer capability building along with information and intelligence sharing. The meetings are examining what practical benefit Ireland can draw from the other nations.

Who is JEF?

The Joint Expeditionary Force brings together Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. It was established in 2014 and operates outside the NATO command structure while being designed to complement it.

The First Sea Lord set out the argument for its existence in an interview published last week. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said the force brings unique freedoms and permissions because it does not require consensus among all ten nations to act, giving political flexibility to respond in a crisis earlier than NATO might be able to mobilise, given the higher bar of consensus the alliance requires. He said NATO commanders welcome it for exactly that reason, because it gives them choice and options in the early stage of a crisis.

That structure is what makes an Irish association possible at all. Ireland is not a NATO member and its policy of military neutrality would make accession difficult, but the JEF is not a treaty alliance with a mutual defence clause, which leaves room for arrangements of the kind now under discussion.

The force is currently running Lion Protector 26, which began on 3 August and continues to 12 October across Northern Europe, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea region. Its opening activity involved escorting vessels carrying allied military equipment into Latvian ports and moving it inland.

Why Ireland is moving

Ireland’s National Maritime Security Strategy, published in February, stated that securing Irish waters will require broader international relationships, with Minister for Defence Helen McEntee saying at the time that the State should not be afraid to work with Britain on security matters.

The undersea infrastructure question sits behind much of this. A substantial share of transatlantic data cables pass through or near Irish waters, and Russian vessels have been observed loitering over cable routes on multiple occasions. Ireland’s defence spending is the lowest in the European Union at around 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product, and the Naval Service has struggled with crewing shortages that have left ships alongside.

The First Sea Lord described the Russian undersea programme in blunt terms in the same interview, saying of the organisation Moscow presents as a deep sea research directorate: “Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not a research agency. It is an independently funded arm of the Russian state, whose sole purpose is to pursue the destruction of critical underwater infrastructure.”

He also said that allies are struggling to contain very capable Russian submarines.

Cooperation already under way

Practical cooperation is running ahead of any formal arrangement. A Royal Navy warship and a Merlin helicopter are operating in the Irish Sea this week providing air defence for the meetings of EU defence and foreign ministers in County Wicklow, at Irish request, with the ship required to remain outside Irish territorial waters on constitutional grounds.

The French air defence frigate Aquitaine performed a similar role off Dublin and County Cork in July.

British involvement in Irish security has drawn political comment at Westminster, with the Conservative MP John Cooper writing to the Defence Secretary last week to complain about the offshore restriction and accusing Ireland of freeloading on defence.