MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

NATO presence in South Atlantic “inappropriate” says Brazil

Defence minister Nelson Jobim

Brazilian Defence Minister Nelson Jobim assured that the Brazilian government would express reservations towards any military plan intending to unite the North with the South Atlantic.

He also commented that having the presence of NATO in the South Atlantic region was deemed “inappropriate”.

The South Atlantic is considered by Brazil to be a region of high strategic value, particularly following the recent discovery or large oil reserves.

The minister expressed his government’s concern while addressing the audience at the Lisbon Defence Institute. Jobim is currently on a European tour which includes the Czech Republic and Ukraine.

“Security measures for each side of the Atlantic Ocean are very different from each other,” he explained.

Only a year ago, Mr. Jobim met with US military authorities and strongly expressed his distaste for their decision to reactivate the Navy’s Fourth Fleet in 2008 after it had been disbanded in 1950.

Back in 2007, Brazil discovered oil reserves worth over 50 billion barrels along its coast and only a week ago government authorities announced they would be expanding their explorations for oil to 350 nautical miles, which means they will not allow for the presence of foreign oil companies in the region.

In related news Britain and Brazil signed this week a Defence affairs cooperation agreement. The document was signed by Acting Defence minister Rear Admiral Julio Soares de Moura Neto and British Deputy Defence minister Gerald Howarth, according to the Brazilian Defence ministry web site.

The agreement which has no commercial links specifies both sides willingness to develop long term cooperation in areas of defence such as industrial production, technology transfer, education and training, among other issues.

The main purpose of the UK/Brazil cooperation is to share research and development in the logistics support area, security technologies, acquisition of defence services and products, peace maintenance activities and exchange of military instructors.