Spanish far-right Vox party urged an increase of military spending by 2% to be able to stay at pace with Morocco. The far-right party cites Morocco as an example saying that the North African Kingdom boosted military spending by 50% in the last decade. The populist party also called for strengthening ties with the US and warned of what it perceived as closer ties between Morocco and the US, the largest arms supplier for Spain. Morocco’s recent plan to modernize its army and develop a defense industry to reduce reliance on exports has stirred concerns in Spain and Algeria. The launch by Morocco of two reconnaissance satellites in 2017 and 2018 in particular has widened the gap with Spain in terms of reconnaissance capabilities.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 03, 2020 14:48 UTC