The spokesman for the Defense Ministry (MApN), Brigadier General Constantin Spinu, said on Wednesday that it is possible to intervene in the case of a hostile attack against Romania with the legislation in force, but „legislative adaptations” are needed to clarify ” the particular situations” that Law 257/2001 could not foresee, because in that period there was no danger of drones.
„I want to send a safety message. Romania’s airspace is well defended. The fact that the drone was not downed, that it was not downed in Poland or in Latvia either, represents a risk, but it was not a vulnerability. At that time there were two F16 planes in the air that were constantly monitoring the situation. The action procedures are the same in the whole NATO airspace. We intervene according to a set of measures that are taken gradually in all NATO airspace. At that time I was in permanent contact with the NATO authorities. Romania’s airspace is managed at an allied level. The two F16 planes of the Romanian Air Force were in combat service, under NATO authority. They were in the air for almost two hours, so they could have intervened in the situation where the drone would have represented a danger to the national territory”, explained Spinu after the meeting of the representatives of the Ministry of Defense with the members of the Senate’s Defense Committee.
He specified that the Romanian legislation, as the legislation of the other NATO countries, „provides procedural steps by which action can be taken against aircraft that use the airspace of Romania illegally”.
„It is true, however, that the legislation was issued around the year 2001, a period when there was no danger of drones, and the situation is almost the same in all NATO countries. That is why legislative adaptations are needed. The Romanian army acts according to the same procedures and principles which activates all NATO armies”, added Spinu.
The MApN spokesman admitted that the drone, which can be considered „also a provocation”, could have been downed if it was „a hostile act directed against NATO territory”.
„The law was issued in 2001 (Law 257/2001). We need legislative clarifications so that our procedures are as simple as possible, and the chain of authority is as short as possible in such situations. The new draft laws are in approval at the various institutions to be approved by the Government. For now, we can act with this legislation, when a hostile act against the territory of Romania or NATO can be estimated. We need to clarify the particular situations that the Law from 2001 could not foresee (…) In the situation where we have a deliberate hostile attack against Romania, sure that no legislative change is needed, we can intervene with the legislation on which we have now. What we want is to be well covered with all the other situations that could not be foreseen in 2001, when there were no drones used militarily”, explained Spinu.
He guaranteed that Romania’s airspace „is defended in the same way xas in all NATO countries” and that there are the necessary means of surveillance, monitoring and intervention in case of a hostile situation.
AGERPRES
