Namibia

Located on the western coast of southern Africa, Namibia is bordered to the north by Angola and Zambia, to the east by Botswana and to the south by South Africa. After almost 25 years of low-level conflict, Namibia was granted sovereign status by South Africa on April 1, 1989. Official independence was granted on March 21, 1990, following the ratification of the Namibian constitution.

A former German protectorate, the territory was a mandate of South Africa from 1919 to 1966. Namibia was known as South West Africa until independence in 1990.

Namibia's post-independence security concerns have largely focused on establishing viable anti-poaching and maritime patrol capabilities to ensure protection of the nation's economic resources and fending off separatist elements in the Caprivi Strip.

However, increasing tensions with neighboring Botswana over ownership of Kasikili Island (known as Sendudu in Botswana), a sandbar in the Chobe River in northeast Namibia measuring 0.62 miles by 1.87 miles (1 km by 3 km), threatened to flare up. Botswana and Namibia agreed in April 1996 to arbitration by the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Netherlands.

On Dec. 13, 1999, the court found that the boundary between Botswana and Namibia follows the line of the deepest soundings in the northern channel of the Chobe River around Kasikili/Sedudu Island, awarding the island to Botswana.

The spread of HIV/AIDS within Namibia became a crisis, at its worst point affecting around 25 percent of the population. Namibia made progress, with an estimated 36 percent reduction in new HIV infections between 2005 and 2013. Namibia sought international help in combating the problem, securing cooperation from Brazil in particular. From 2011 to 2014, domestic funding for health surpassed 14 percent of Namibia's annual budget. In 2016, the United Nations estimated that 230,000 people -- about 14 percent of those between ages 15 to 49 -- were infected with HIV.

Namibia has had security problems for years along the northern border with Angola. In the late 1990s, secessionist troubles in the Caprivi Strip, in eastern Namibia, prompted thousands of Namibians to flee to Botswana. By 2002, the Namibian government declared the area safe for tourists. Ten leaders of the secessionist movement were convicted of treason in August 2007 and sentenced to long prison terms. In 2013, the region was renamed Zambezi in an attempt to break from its German colonial history. The Caprivi strip was named for a former German chancellor.

In July 2014, Namibia's Cabinet approved a request by the minister of environment and tourism to use security forces to combat poaching. The decision followed the killing of 10 endangered black rhinos. Areas afflicted by poaching, including Kavango East, Zambezi, Kunene and Erongo, were to be patrolled by troops from the newly formed anti-poaching unit. The unit initially deployed three Falcon unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with plans for up to eight.

In August 2015, authorities investigated suspected terror cells in Namibia thought to be linked to Al-Qaida or Al-Shabaab. Several potential cells were reportedly found in Windhoek and Rehobeth. The suspects reportedly migrants from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Officials from Namibia’s intelligence service, police services and prosecutor general’s office participated in the investigation.

In March 2016, the Ministry of Defense announced that Namibia's air force had relocated its headquarters from vin the north-central part of the country to Karibib Air Force Base in the Erongo region. No effective date was given.

According to a ministry spokesperson, Grootfontein Air Force Base remained in use. The move was said to be based on Karibib's relative proximity to the capital.

International Affairs

In 1998, Namibia was one of a handful of African countries that intervened in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Namibia, along with Angola and Zimbabwe, dispatched troops to back DRC President Laurent Kabila against rebels aligned with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Namibia sent 150 civil observers and 43 military officials to the Democratic Republic of Congo in July 2006 to oversee elections there.

Namibia is also a participant in the South African Development Community (SADC), which has established a standby brigade of peacekeeping troops.

Brazil has partnered with Namibia in the defense sector – providing the Namibian navy with five newly constructed patrol craft in 2005 and 2006, and helping to train Namibian naval officers. In February 2013, Brazil's defense minister made a two-day visit to Namibia and agreed to increase naval cooperation. About 40 Brazilian naval personnel trained with the Namibian navy.

Namibia is an associate observer in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), which has helped drive its naval cooperation with Brazil. According to the Brazilian navy in early 2017, more than 1,600 Namibian military personnel had graduated in Brazil.

In September 2009, India and Namibia finalized an agreement on nuclear energy. The agreement included a US$100 million line of credit over the next five years for purchasing Indian goods.

In April 2011, U.S. naval personnel from the combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa helped train Namibian national police in explosive ordnance disposal procedures in Arandis, Namibia. The training was carried out in accordance with an international effort.

In October 2011, Chinese and Namibian officials agreed to increase bilateral military ties, especially with peacekeeping and training.

In 2015, it was reported that China had reportedly expressed an interest in constructing a naval base in Namibia’s Walvis Bay that could house up to six Chinese warships. The interest was reflected in a letter dated Dec. 22, 2014, that was published in the Namibian newspaper in January 2015. Two Chinese missile frigates previously trained with the Namibian navy in the Walvis Bay area in June 2014. Pressed for comments, Namibian officials equivocated.

China's Defense Minister Chang Wanquan visited Namibia in April 2015, promising to donate US$4.8 million worth of military equipment. The donation was part of an effort to increase defense cooperation, said Wangquan. The minister denied that Beijing planned to establish a naval base in Namibia.

Namibian relations with North Korea came under U.N. scrutiny in June 2016. The U.N. indicated that a North Korean proposal to build a munitions factory in Namibia would be in violation of international sanctions, which ban any technology transfer or training that could be used for military purposes. The government in Windhoek said it was taking steps to ensure the observation of international law and compliance with the sanctions. Several North Korean firms had reportedly been involved in military construction projects in Namibia. Under growing international pressure, Namibia said it would terminate dealings with Pyongyang but maintain warm relations.

In October 2017, the Namibian government rejected charges by the head of a panel United Nations experts that Namibia had not been in compliance with U.N. sanctions against North Korea and had not submitted a report to the sanctions community for more than a year. A Namibian minister said her govern ment was committed to the relevant U.N. sanctions on North Korea and vowed they would stay in place as long as the Security Council sanctions existed.

DEFENSE ESTABLISHMENT

The President is commander-in-chief of the Namibia Defense Force. Operational and administrative control of the armed forces is the responsibility of the defense minister.

ARMED FORCES

The Namibian defense forces have ground, air and maritime components, organized as follows:

  1 reconnaissance regiment
  6 infantry battalions
  1 presidential guard battalion
  1 artillery brigade, with
    1 artillery regiment
  1 logistics battalion
  1 air defense regiment
  1 anti-tank regiment
  1 signals regiment
  1 engineer regiment
  1 fighter/ground attack squadron
  1 air surveillance squadron
  # transport squadrons
  1 flight training squadron
  1 attack/transport helicopter squadron
  1 coast guard/fisheries protection service
    (subordinate to Dept. of Fisheries)

The principal role of the army is to ensure the nation's territorial defense and assist civilian authorities when required. Equipment priorities include improved troop-lift capacity; air defense and communications systems; and the creation of secure, integrated and cost-efficient systems. The army is focused on developing a reserve, training with other Commonwealth armies and Namibian forces and increasing cooperation with civil authorities.

Air force duties include surveillance and transport of supplies, equipment and personnel. It operates in support of the army and navy.

The navy was commissioned on Oct. 7, 2004; its main task is to defend the nation's coastline in the event of an attack. During peacetime, the navy augments civil offshore patrol forces in combating illegal immigration, smuggling and environmental threats. It also carries out maritime surveillance, search-and-rescue and fisheries protection missions. The naval National Defense Force (NDF) is responsible for the transfer of government civil maritime vessels to the navy during wartime.

CONSCRIPTION

The Namibian National Defense Force is an all-volunteer force.

PERSONNEL STRENGTH

The overall defense force numbers 9,900, with 9,000 in the army/air wing and 900 naval personnel. Paramilitary forces total 6,000.

In August 1995, Namibia announced the formation of a paramilitary unit to assist the national police with internal security. Most new recruits were drawn from the thousands of ex-SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization) and PLAN (People's Liberation Army of Namibia) guerrilla fighters who had been unemployed since independence in 1990. The Special Field Force has 6,000 personnel, including the Border Guard and the Special Reserve Force.

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