Spanish far-left coalition criticizes Moroccan naval exercises off Sahara coast

The Royal Moroccan Navy has scheduled naval maneuvers off the coast of the Saharan provinces from September 1 to December 31, 2024. In Spain, these operations have irritated the far-left Sumar coalition, a member of Pedro Sanchez's government and close to the Polisario.

In written questions to the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs, its Sahara-born deputy, Tesh Sidi, inquired whether Morocco had informed its Iberian neighbor about these exercises.

She referred to the maneuvers as «a blackmail operation on the part of Rabat and an invitation to European governments to support its occupation of Saharan territory».

As a reminder, the Royal Moroccan Navy's previous naval maneuvers, held from March 29 to June 28 in Saharan waters, were also denounced by Spanish political forces. The People's Party demanded that the Sanchez government provide explanations for these operations by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).

In response to the controversy, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that the Royal Moroccan Navy's naval exercises were taking place «well outside the territorial waters» of the Iberian kingdom.