Major non-NATO ally is a designation given by the United States government to
close allies who have strategic working relationships with U.S. Armed Forces but
are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. While the MNNA
status does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United
States, it does confer a variety of military and financial advantages that
otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries.
History MNNA status was first created in 1989
when section 2350a, otherwise known as the Nunn Amendment, was added to Title
10 of the United States Code by Congress. It stipulated that cooperative
research and development agreements could be enacted with non-NATO allies by
the Secretary of Defense with the concurrence of the Secretary of State.
Initial MNNAs were Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and South Korea.
In 1996, major non-NATO allies received additional military and financial
benefits when section 2321k was added to Title 22 of the U.S. Code, which added
MNNAs to many of the same exemptions from the Arms Export Control Act that
were enjoyed by NATO members. It also authorized the President to designate a
nation as an MNNA thirty days after notifying Congress. When enacted, the
statute designated Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, and
South Korea as major non-NATO allies. U.S.-New Zealand strategic and military
cooperation suffered a setback after the breakdown of the ANZUS alliance in 1984
over nuclear ship entry. The designation of New Zealand as an MNNA reflected the
warming of relations between the two. In June 2012 New Zealand signed a
partnership arrangement with NATO further strengthening and consolidating
relations. In 2014, a bill was introduced to the United States Congress
to grant major non-NATO ally status to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. In May
2015, US President Barack Obama declared his intention to make Tunisia a non-NATO
ally while hosting his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi at the
White House Benefits
Nations named as major non-NATO allies are eligible for the following benefits:
entry into cooperative research and development projects with the Department
of Defense on a shared-cost basis participation in certain
counter-terrorism initiatives purchase of depleted uranium anti-tank
rounds priority delivery of military surplus
possession of War Reserve Stocks of DoD-owned equipment that are kept
outside of American military bases loans of equipment and materials for
cooperative research and development projects and evaluations
permission to use American financing for the purchase or lease of certain defense
equipment reciprocal training
expedited export processing of space technology
permission for the country's corporations to bid on certain DoD
contracts for the repair and maintenance of military equipment outside the United
States Major Strategic Partner
In December 2014 the US Congress passed the US—Israel Major Strategic Partner
Act. This new category is one notch above the Major Non-NATO Ally
classification and adds additional support for defense, energy, and
strengthen cooperation business and academics. The bill additionally calls
for the US to increase their war reserve stock in Israel $1.8 billion.
List of MNNAs The following countries have been
designated as major non-NATO allies of the United States:
= Named by George H. W. Bush= Australia
Egypt Israel
Japan South Korea
= Named by Bill Clinton= Jordan
New Zealand Argentina
= Named by George W. Bush= Bahrain
Philippines Thailand
Kuwait Morocco
Pakistan = Named by Barack Obama=
Afghanistan Tunisia
Other proposed MNNAs Other states have been proposed as
future major non-NATO allies. Following the 2014 Crimean Crisis, members of
Congress proposed designating Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia as major non-NATO
allies. During a 2015 Camp David summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council
states, the Obama administration considered designating Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar as MNNAs.
References