Azores government says Lajes cannot be a ‘dormitory base’

The vice-president of the regional government of the Azores, Arthur Lima, said this Monday that the Lajes base on the island of Terceira, used by the North American Air Force, cannot be “a sleeper base to wake up only when necessary.” “.

“It has already been proven that the Azores are here when needed. Now what we cannot have here and cannot accept is a sleeping base to wake up only when needed. We do not want and will not accept this. This is one of the points that the Azores must make the government of the Republic feel, and the government of the Republic must make the North American government and NATO feel within their competence,” he said, addressing reporters.

Arthur Lima spoke in the village of Lajes on the island of Terceira on the sidelines of a conference on the topic “Portugal is the Azores – USA and the Azores in the Cold War (1945-1965)”, conducted by Professor Tasito Rolim, Doctor of Historical Sciences, State University of Ceará, Brazil .

The initiative was organized as part of the research and work plan for the establishment of the Lajes Basic Interpretive Centre, developed in collaboration with the Historical Institute of Terceira Island (IHIT), from the end of 2023.

At the opening of the conference, the vice-president of the Azores executive recalled the 2015 reduction of US military forces at the Lajes base and the contamination of soils and aquifers, which required “a show of strength, firmness and dialogue so that this issue can be treated with the caution that he deserves it,” although “some important steps” stand out.

On the other hand, he argued that although he questioned the strategic value of the Lajes base, due to technological advances and growing competition between the US and China, the Azores “will never cease to be a key asset for China’s defense and security policy ” West”.

“Geopolitics is not static, situations develop and change. What we are now seeing is a reorientation of attention in the West and, moreover, in the Atlantic due to the spread of military conflicts, be it in Ukraine or the Middle East,” he noted.

However, Arthur Lima demanded compensation for the Azores.

“This base is not a museum piece, but an active rehabilitation of the country, the US and NATO, which the Azores should take advantage of for its regional and local development. Because there is no doubt that we want to serve, and we However, we also want to ensure that they are given fair and deserved compensation,” he stressed.

A government official needs to “put the geostrategic significance of the Lajes base on the international agenda” and the planned interpretation center could do its part.

Arthur Lima emphasized that this is not just about creating a physical space, but about a space “dedicated to research and the scientific production of new knowledge about the geostrategic role of the region.”

In November 2023, the regional government signed a protocol with IHIT worth 40 thousand euros, which was valid until December 2024, but the work will continue, according to the vice president.

“This part of the study ends this year, but it will continue throughout 2025, and I assume that at the end of the year the theoretical part will be completed. Then all the theoretical information collected by the historical institute will be developed, and then I hope that later it will be put into practice and materialize,” he explained.

The scientific committee of the interpretative center will include Antonio José Telo, professor of history at the Military Academy, Luis Andrade, professor of political science and international relations at the University of the Azores, and Tasito Rolim, speaker of the conference.

The Brazilian historian, who accidentally discovered the Azores while exploring the archipelago Fernando Noronha, emphasized the importance of the Lajes base during the Cold War as “a protective barrier to the east coast of the United States against possible Soviet attack.” “and while observing a military operation in North America that tested “the detonation of nuclear devices in the upper atmosphere.”