Together

The German naval battalion has been working closely with the Royal Dutch Corps Mariniers for many years. Both sides have benefited from this.

German-Dutch naval cooperation has its roots in the early realisation of the growing "responsibility of European alliance members to jointly formulate their special interests [vis-à-vis the USA]" and to counter the "gap between rising defence costs and budgetary constraints" through military cooperation. These were the words of the 1970 White Paper, and this rationale seems more relevant today than ever.

The two countries have historically shared similar interests and challenges in terms of their maritime security and defence. For many years, cooperation between the German Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy focussed almost exclusively on the area of ships and boats and