Argelia compromete a Marruecos a elevar su presupuesto militar

Since the beginning of tensions in the Western Sahara and Sahel region, the countries involved in the conflict have found it necessary to increase their military budgets. Algeria, whose relations with Spain and Morocco are non-existent, are severely damaged with Tunisia, and barely deals economically with Libya, has increased its defence budget the most. During the conflict, Algeria's military government cut off a gas pipeline to Spain and strained relations with France, preventing the French from passing through its territory to assist troops in the Sahel. It also revised the constitution to allow the military to operate outside its borders - looking towards the Sahel - and increased purchases of modern weapons from partners such as Russia and Islamic regimes such as Iran.

While before the pandemic its budget was $9.2 billion, by the end of 2022, the executive approved a historic 130% increase, not only reaching the $10 billion mark for the first time, but also reaching $23.3 billion, or more than 15% of Algeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while only just over 10% is spent on health. According to Le360, the increase in military spending means that more than 15.6% of Algeria's GDP is spent on the Armed Forces, making it the only country in the world that spends such a percentage.

The figures for the increase are impressive, as Algeria's investment in defence is double that of Spain, which invests less than 2% of GDP, and will become greater than that of Israel and almost four times greater than that of all its strategic rivals, including Morocco. Three years later, amid growing tensions, Algeria and Morocco closed their borders, which have been armed ever since.

The African Sahel, which borders Algeria, is a hub of irregular migration to the north and the current engine of jihadism, which has become a future threat to the Mediterranean - arguments that the Algerian administration has used to justify its increased defence budget.

Algeria is still the leader among Arab and African countries, although the growth rate was low just two years ago, so the excessive increase has no other purpose than to put pressure on Morocco. According to the Global FirePower Index, it ranks 26th out of 126 countries, largely due to its maritime dominance and its trade relationship with Russia, which dates back to the Soviet era. But we should not forget the historic rivalry between the two central Maghreb countries, Algeria and Morocco, whose ties have been severed for a year now, with the two countries' armed forces deployed on both sides of the adjacent territory.

Unlike Algeria's Defence, which recently focused on developing its own weaponry under a contract with a large foreign consortium, Morocco's Defence focuses more on technical military training and manoeuvres with armies from other countries: Israel and the United States. The Alawite kingdom has strengthened its ties with the US and NATO, which it considers allies, as well as with Israel, which in recent years has caused a tsunami in the Arab world. The Global FirePower Index ranks the Kingdom 57th, a significant jump from 10 years ago. The new Defence Bill increases military spending by 6 per cent until 2023, the main reason being offshore defence.

This is combined with cooperation agreements and joint war exercises such as African Lion, which allowed the US to test equipment at its European gateway. A sand war can cross borders and this could soon be another source of instability in southern Europe.

The unresolved conflict in the UN-administered Western Sahara is another cause for great concern in the Maghreb due to the ongoing war in the region between Rabat and the Polisario Front. According to university professor and military expert Mohamed Chiker, as La Razón reports, the Algerian regime wants to settle an important technical debt in the arms sector with this huge investment. "Until now, Algerian forces have always opted for Russian heavy artillery, which is ineffective in the conflict with Ukraine," he said.

"The regime sees Morocco investing in modern equipment, such as Israeli F-16s and drones, strong partnerships based on technology transfer, and modern surveillance and military intelligence equipment," he concluded, referring to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's fears about Rabat's massive effort.