The U.S. State Department announced its formal withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Image : The U.S. State Department announced its formal withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty

The picture shows, on March 24, 2011, an Air Force Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft took off from the French Air Force base 702 and took part in an air reconnaissance mission over the Mediterranean Sea. (ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

 

The U.S. State Department announced its official withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty on the 22nd (Sunday) and is no longer a party to the treaty.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 2002. The treaty allows unarmed aerial reconnaissance flights in the entire field of member states to gather mutual military intelligence. The purpose is to enhance mutual understanding and trust and reduce the chance of conflict. It is also Europe's Cold War As one of the measures to strengthen mutual trust, more than 30 countries have joined.

There are more than 1,500 aerial reconnaissance operations under the framework of the treaty. Russia and the United States conduct 42 aerial reconnaissance operations on each other each year. The two countries also often control each other's violation of the Open Skies Treaty.

According to a report by Deutsche Welle, investigating US actions in Poland or Germany is attractive to Russia. Therefore, despite concerns, Russia is still willing to stay in the contract, but the United States believes that the treaty is becoming less and more meaningless and the cost is increasing. The more expensive it is. On the other hand, the United States does not rely on reconnaissance aircraft as much as Russia and other countries because it can obtain comprehensive satellite images.

The Trump administration announced in May this year that Russia did not abide by the treaty and that the United States will officially withdraw in six months. The Russian side believes that the US requirement that Russian reconnaissance aircraft not fly over US military bases in Europe is "absolutely impossible."

It is reported that in February next year, the existing nuclear disarmament agreement between the United States and Russia is about to be terminated. Russia has repeatedly urged the United States to extend the agreement, but to no avail. After Trump assumed office in January 2017, the United States withdrew from international agreements such as the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris Agreement to combat climate change in 2015.

Open Skies Treaty 

According to Wikipedia, the Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 2002. It is a military transparency mechanism between the United States, some NATO countries, Russia and some Eastern European countries.

The treaty is mostly used to symbolize military mutual trust. The flight routes coordinated by the two countries do not involve truly classified military installations, nor do they prohibit camouflage or deception of the installations, and the surveillance planes carry military personnel from both sides.

Signatory countries can conduct unarmed aerial reconnaissance in each other's territory to check their implementation of various international arms control treaties.

The focus of the international treaty is that the US-Russian reconnaissance aircraft can fly in the airspace of both sides and use the local airport to take off and land for resupply. However, the aircraft must be supervised by local military personnel, and the flight route and airport must be negotiated and approved in advance.

On May 21, 2020, the US State Department announced that the United States would submit a notice of withdrawal decision to the signatory countries on May 22, 2020, and officially withdrew on November 22 of the same year. President Trump accused Russia of breaching the contract, saying this was the reason for the U.S. withdrawal. He also said that the U.S. and Russia have a chance to reach a new agreement.