Word: nato
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...French navy confirmed to TIME that it does not give the positions of its nuclear-armed submarines to NATO forces. "France does not supply any information regarding the position of its nuclear arms or submarines carrying them because France considers its nuclear arsenal the most vital element in its defense capabilities," said Jérome Erulin, a spokesman for the French Navy...
...NATO sources told TIME that France is not alone in withholding information about nuclear-armed submarines - the Brits and Americans keep the locations of their strategic deterrents secret too. In a prepared statement, a NATO spokesman said, "France uses the same procedures with regard to its submarine fleet as all other allies...
...Ferguson says the French are particularly secretive due to their position outside NATO's command structure. And past policy-level discussions have suggested a concern over the lack of communication. In 1994 Britain and France discussed closer cooperation between their navies and a possible carving up of deployment zones for their nuclear-armed submarine patrols. It took until September 2000 for arrangements to be formalized, in what was named the U.K.-French Bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement. That called for port visits for British and French nuclear-armed submarines and regular exchanges on nuclear policy. (See pictures of the French President...
...unclear whether the agreement called for an exchange of information regarding nuclear-armed submarine positioning; many arms experts say it probably did not. "The fact that the collision occurred at all indicates that the two allies need to talk more," says Hans Kristensen, who monitors NATO's weapons for the Federation of American Scientists...
...fact the collision could have been prevented by better communication between France and NATO, the revelation comes at a politically sensitive time: France is set to rejoin NATO's military infrastructure in April. Its secrecy policy on the location of its nuclear-armed subs could come under fire before then, especially as the French say they will not budge on the issue. Explains Erulin of the French Navy: "Because this is so essential to France's strategic defense interests, this is something that will be maintained even after France is fully reintegrated into NATO's military command structure...