Spain, long seen as a loyal NATO ally, is now carving out a path that could make it the West’s most unexpected rebel.
Since 2023, the Spanish government under the leadership of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pursued an increasingly independent course that directly challenges American positions on Israel, embraces deeper economic ties with China, and questions NATO’s one-size-fits-all approach to security.
Spain’s confrontation with Israel has perhaps been the most dramatic manifestation of its independence from Western foreign policy priorities. In May 2024, Spain formally recognized Palestine as a state alongside Ireland and Norway, with Sánchez declaring this was “not only a matter of historic justice” but also “an essential requirement” for achieving peace. Spain’s recognition was based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, directly contradicting decades of American diplomatic positioning.
The Spanish government has systematically escalated its opposition to Israeli policies in Gaza. In September 2025, Spain implemented a comprehensive arms embargo against Israel that goes far beyond symbolic gestures. The package includes a permanent ban on all arms exports, dual-use technology, and military equipment to Israel, prohibition of ships carrying fuel to Israeli forces from using Spanish ports, denial of Spanish airspace to aircraft transporting military materials to Israel, a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in occupied territories, and entry prohibition for individuals involved in what Sánchez termed genocide in Gaza.
Most significantly, Spain has terminated military contracts with Israeli companies worth approximately one billion dollars. This includes canceling a 700 million euro contract for Israeli-designed SILAM rocket launchers from Elbit Systems and a 287.5 million euro deal for Spike anti-tank missiles from Rafael. Defense Minister Margarita Robles stated unequivocally that “there is no longer any agreement, no contract, nor any relationship between the armed forces and the State of Israel.”
Sánchez has even called for Israel to be banned from international sporting events, drawing parallels to Russia’s exclusion following its invasion of Ukraine. Speaking before Socialist Party lawmakers in Spain’s parliament, Sánchez challenged the double standard, asking, “Why was Russia expelled [from global sporting events] after the invasion of Ukraine, but Israel allowed to remain after the invasion of Gaza?,” a remark that directly called out Western hypocrisy and exposed the selective enforcement of international law
While confronting Israel, Spain has simultaneously deepened its economic relationship with China in ways that directly contradict American efforts to decouple from Beijing. The transformation is remarkable in scope and speed. China has become Spain’s largest non-European Union trading partner and fourth-largest overall trading partner, with Spain importing 45 billion euros worth of goods from China in 2024 while exporting only 7.5 billion euros in return.
Sánchez has made multiple high-profile visits to China, including trips in March 2023, September 2024, and April 2025. During his last visit, Spain and China signed seven agreements facilitating Spanish food exports and strengthening cooperation in science, education, and culture. These agreements have expanded market access for Spanish products in China, including new protocols for pork and cherry exports, while establishing bilateral working groups on medical devices, medicines, and cosmetics.
Most tellingly, Spain’s 2025 external action strategy places China on the same level of importance as the United States, marking a fundamental shift in foreign policy priorities. The strategy portrays China in a favorable light and emphasizes Spain’s role as a “partner of the EU” in facilitating better China-EU relations, directly contradicting American efforts to isolate Beijing diplomatically.
Interestingly, Sánchez’s independent streak has clear geographical and political boundaries. While challenging American orthodoxy on China and Israel, his government maintains alignment with the EU’s hardline position on Ukraine. Spain supports seizing frozen Russian assets and continues backing Ukraine militarily, revealing what Eldar Mamedov of Responsible Statecraft describes as the “circumstantial, not convictional” nature of Sánchez’s foreign policy.
However, even on Russia, Sánchez has articulated a distinctly Spanish perspective that challenges NATO’s universal threat assessment. In March 2025, he explicitly stated that “our threat is not Russia bringing its troops across the Pyrenees,” referring to the mountain range separating Spain from France. He elaborated that “defense in the east of Europe has nothing to do with the security challenges we have in Spain” and added that “we are not going to have a physical attack from Russia like some of the Baltic or Nordic countries, such as Finland, might have.”
This geographic realism has translated into concrete policy differences. Spain has become one of the few NATO members to refuse the alliance’s new 5% GDP defense spending target, with Sánchez citing budgetary constraints and social priorities. However, a new compromise allows Spain to maintain only 2.1% of GDP while other allies commit to 5%, exposing fundamental disagreements about threat perception and burden-sharing within the Western alliance.
Washington’s response to Spain’s independent course has been swift and sharp. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been particularly critical of Spain’s approach to China, stating that Spain’s suggestion for closer EU-China alignment “would be cutting your own throat.” This criticism came as Sánchez visited Beijing while other EU leaders were adopting more confrontational stances toward China.
The U.S. State Department has expressed concerns over Spain’s arms embargo on Israel, stating that the “measures embolden terrorists” and warning that Spain’s actions could “potentially limit U.S. operations.” The dispute has raised questions about the future of U.S.-Spain defense cooperation, including the status of American military bases in Spain.
President Donald Trump himself has criticized Spain as “notorious” for its minimal defense spending, while American security analysts increasingly question Spain’s reliability as a NATO ally. The Heritage Foundation published a scathing assessment in September 2025 titled “Spain’s Socialist Government Has the Least Responsible Security Policies in NATO,” reflecting growing American frustration with Madrid’s positions.
Spain’s evolution represents something more significant than the policy preferences of a single government. It demonstrates how even traditional Western allies are beginning to exercise strategic autonomy in ways that challenge American global leadership. Sánchez’s government has shown that countries can selectively cooperate with and oppose American positions based on their own national interests rather than ideological considerations.
The Spanish case reveals the limitations of America’s universalist agenda, which assumes that all countries face identical threats and should adopt identical foreign policy postures. Spain’s geographic position means it faces different security challenges than Baltic states, its economic interests sometimes align more closely with China than with American preferences, and its historical and cultural connections to the Arab world create different perspectives on Middle Eastern conflicts.
Most importantly, Spain’s independent course has not resulted in international isolation or economic catastrophe. Instead, Madrid has successfully diversified its partnerships while maintaining its position within European and transatlantic institutions. This demonstrates that countries can hedge against American hegemony without completely abandoning Western institutional frameworks.
Despite tensions, Spain has even positioned itself as a mediator between the United States and China, hosting high-level trade talks in Madrid in September 2025. This role demonstrates Spain’s attempt to maintain relationships with both superpowers while pursuing its independent course, suggesting a future where middle powers play a more important role in managing great power competition.
The Spanish example suggests that the rigid bipolarity that characterized the Cold War era is giving way to a more complex multipolar reality where countries feel empowered to pursue their own interests rather than automatically siding with the preferences of global superpowers. This represents a healthy development that could lead to more balanced international relationships and reduce the risks associated with excessive concentration of global power in any single capital.
As the dust settles on America’s unipolar moment, Spain’s example will likely be remembered not as an aberration, but as the opening chapter of a new multipolar age where nations prioritize their own interests over the machinations of distant superpowers.
