Shield to deploy at Rota naval base

SPAIN has given the green light to deploy an American anti-missile defence shield at the Rota naval base, near Cadiz.

Spain’s vice president Soraya Saenz de Santamaria insists the shield will enhance capabilities ‘against the threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles’.

It will also provide ‘better protection for Europe, its population and Allied forces in Europe’.

The American naval base was opened in 1953 under a deal signed between President Franco and President Eisenhower.

Over a thousand American families live on the base, which frequently houses a series of nuclear submarines and other warships.