Foreign bases in host states as a form of invited military assistance: legal implications

ABSTRACT Many states are willing to host on their territory the armed forces of other states, typically through leases of sites where military bases are established. This creates a form of long-term military assistance for the host states that can transcend periods of both peace and armed conflict. The assistance may be sought as such by the host states, or it may be a de facto situation that results from the presence of the foreign troops. This article defines and examines some questions of international law that arise from these arrangements, with a focus on the legal implications for the host states. These implications can include sharing legal responsibility for unlawful acts of the state using the base, the erosion of host-state neutrality when that state is engaged in an armed conflict, and questions about the nature of the host state’s sovereignty in the leased area.