Presidential Elections: Gouveia e Melo Rejects Continental NATO and Is Against Criticism of the United States

Presidential candidate Gouveia e Melo today considered it essential that Portugal oppose a continental NATO, not a global or transatlantic one, and rejected criticism of the United States as a country because of Donald Trump's actions.

These positions were taken by the former Chief of the Navy General Staff at a conference promoted by “Estoril talks”, under the theme of “the future of NATO and the Defense of Portugal in the face of changes in the transatlantic relationship”.

At the end of his approximately 20-minute speech, during which he also criticized the Israeli military intervention in Gaza, Henrique Gouveia e Melo issued a warning regarding National Defense strategy: "We Portuguese cannot allow the Atlantic alliance to evolve into a continental NATO disconnected from the transatlantic axis and disconnected from the United States."

"And criticizing the United States, simply because it's Mr. Trump, doesn't seem like the best strategy for Portugal," he declared, without identifying the recipient(s) of his message.

At this conference, the admiral's central thesis was that it is not in Portugal's interest for NATO to become a continental power, because in that model the country would be "peripheral."

In contrast, in his view, Portugal must "nurture the idea of a global NATO, to respond to new challenges."

"In a more regional component of this global NATO, Portugal can focus on the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic, which are areas of influence, one due to geographic proximity and the other due to identity proximity," he argued.

At this point, he spoke of Portugal's historical proximity to Brazil, Angola and the country's centuries-old experience in the Gulf of Africa and West Africa.

“We can play a pivotal role for Africa – and the Americans consider this role very important,” he maintained.

According to the former Chief of Staff of the Navy, Portugal can also play the role of "controlling the submarine activity" of adversaries in the North Atlantic.

"Submarine capabilities, which deceive and hide, are very difficult to counter—and we can be experts in that regard. Three years ago, the Portuguese Navy made a significant shift to fulfill this role within NATO, with the recognition of its main allies, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France," he argued.

Regarding the investment targets set for each member state, Gouveia e Melo expressed doubts about the goal of reaching 5% of gross domestic product for defense in each country. He also warned against any pressure to force rapid purchases of military equipment.

"There's an important economic aspect to consider here, because if we have to do this reinforcement very quickly, many countries won't be ready to respond industrially. This will benefit countries that are already industrialized and have this capacity, namely three core countries: the largest, the United States, but then Germany and France," he added.