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US STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT CONFIRMS AZERBAIJAN HOSTS COASTAL RADAR STATIONS
by Lilit Gevorgyan
Global Insight
August 2, 2012
The US State Department has confirmed that the Azerbaijan government
has set up seven radar stations along its Caspian sea coastline. The
information was revealed in the Europe and Eurasia Review section
of the 2011 edition of Country Reports on Terrorism published by the
Office of Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department on
31 July. The report stated: "Through the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Proliferation Prevention Program, the Azerbaijan government assumed
responsibility for the sustainment of seven radar stations along the
Caspian coast used by the Navy, Coast Guard, and State Border Service
to conduct maritime surveillance and detect smuggling threats." The
report went on to say that the South Caucasian country has also
launched a National Communication System pilot project, which will
centralise information received from portal monitors at various
border crossings. Regional media reported that in addition Azerbaijan
is set to host new radars; however the US report did not suggest
this. In recent years, with US help, Azerbaijan launched a Caspian
Guard Special Forces project in conjunction with Kazakhstan, which
aims to increase security in the Caspian Sea along the Azerbaijani
and Kazakh borders. The headquarters of the special forces are in
Azerbaijan's capital Baku.
Significance:The US State Department report only clarifies the
existence of radar stations in Azerbaijan. The first media reports of
these stations emerged in the second half of 2011 although Azerbaijan
has been working with the US for some time to boost its coastal
security. The reports suggest that most of the radar facilities
are positioned along the Caspian shores. The same reports also
suggest that Azerbaijan had received 30 patrol boats from Turkey and
three from the US. The US has also helped Baku set up a control and
command centre. Dozens of members of Azerbaijan's military personnel
have received training at NATO's European training centres, although
military from other former Soviet states involved in NATO's Partnership
for Peace programme have also been involved in similar military
training. The news of the radar stations has come under spotlight
with the growing tensions between the international community and
Iran over the latter's alleged nuclear weapons programme. Azerbaijan's
relations with Iran have been strained for some time, especially since
it emerged in February this year that Baku concluded a USD1.6 billion
arms supply deal with Israel which has threatened a military strike
against the Islamic Republic. Part of the deal involves the supply
of Israel's Super Green Pine radar, a development that has unnerved
Iran, although Azerbaijan has played down Tehran's fears by saying
that the equipment will be used elsewhere, which is widely understood
to be against Armenia's self-declared republic of Nagorno Karabakh,
in the west of Azerbaijan.
The confirmation of radar facilities hosted in eastern Azerbaijan
along the Caspian coast are likely to deepen Tehran's concerns about
their potential use against Iran in the event of military escalation.
by Lilit Gevorgyan
Global Insight
August 2, 2012
The US State Department has confirmed that the Azerbaijan government
has set up seven radar stations along its Caspian sea coastline. The
information was revealed in the Europe and Eurasia Review section
of the 2011 edition of Country Reports on Terrorism published by the
Office of Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department on
31 July. The report stated: "Through the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Proliferation Prevention Program, the Azerbaijan government assumed
responsibility for the sustainment of seven radar stations along the
Caspian coast used by the Navy, Coast Guard, and State Border Service
to conduct maritime surveillance and detect smuggling threats." The
report went on to say that the South Caucasian country has also
launched a National Communication System pilot project, which will
centralise information received from portal monitors at various
border crossings. Regional media reported that in addition Azerbaijan
is set to host new radars; however the US report did not suggest
this. In recent years, with US help, Azerbaijan launched a Caspian
Guard Special Forces project in conjunction with Kazakhstan, which
aims to increase security in the Caspian Sea along the Azerbaijani
and Kazakh borders. The headquarters of the special forces are in
Azerbaijan's capital Baku.
Significance:The US State Department report only clarifies the
existence of radar stations in Azerbaijan. The first media reports of
these stations emerged in the second half of 2011 although Azerbaijan
has been working with the US for some time to boost its coastal
security. The reports suggest that most of the radar facilities
are positioned along the Caspian shores. The same reports also
suggest that Azerbaijan had received 30 patrol boats from Turkey and
three from the US. The US has also helped Baku set up a control and
command centre. Dozens of members of Azerbaijan's military personnel
have received training at NATO's European training centres, although
military from other former Soviet states involved in NATO's Partnership
for Peace programme have also been involved in similar military
training. The news of the radar stations has come under spotlight
with the growing tensions between the international community and
Iran over the latter's alleged nuclear weapons programme. Azerbaijan's
relations with Iran have been strained for some time, especially since
it emerged in February this year that Baku concluded a USD1.6 billion
arms supply deal with Israel which has threatened a military strike
against the Islamic Republic. Part of the deal involves the supply
of Israel's Super Green Pine radar, a development that has unnerved
Iran, although Azerbaijan has played down Tehran's fears by saying
that the equipment will be used elsewhere, which is widely understood
to be against Armenia's self-declared republic of Nagorno Karabakh,
in the west of Azerbaijan.
The confirmation of radar facilities hosted in eastern Azerbaijan
along the Caspian coast are likely to deepen Tehran's concerns about
their potential use against Iran in the event of military escalation.