page_title: Major non-NATO ally
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Major non-NATO ally / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Gen. Prayut Chan-O-Cha, commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army, salutes during an Army full honor arrival ceremony hosted by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall's Whipple Field in Arlington, Va., June 6, 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Eboni Everson-Myart/Released)
context_page_description: Major non-NATO ally is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the US Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. While the status does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United States, it still confers a variety of military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries.
context_section_description: MNNA status was first created in 1989 when section 2350a, otherwise known as the Sam Nunn Amendment, was added to Title 10 (Armed Forces) of the United States Code by Congress. It stipulated that cooperative research and development agreements could be enacted with non-NATO allies by the Secretary of Defense with the concurrence of the Secretary of State. The initial MNNAs were Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and South Korea.
  In 1996, major non-NATO allies received additional military and financial benefits when section 2321k was added to Title 22 (Foreign Relations) of the U.S. Code (also known as section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961), which added MNNAs to many of the same exemptions from the Arms Export Control Act that were enjoyed by NATO members. It also authorized the President to designate a nation as an MNNA thirty days after notifying Congress. When enacted, the statute designated the initial five countries as major non-NATO allies, and added Jordan and New Zealand to the list.
  U.S.-New Zealand strategic and military cooperation suffered a setback after the breakdown of the ANZUS alliance in 1984 over nuclear ship entry. The designation of New Zealand as an MNNA reflected the warming of relations between the two.  In June 2012 New Zealand signed a partnership arrangement with NATO further strengthening and consolidating relations.
  When Congress enacted on September 30, 2002, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY 2003, it required that Taiwan be "treated as though it were designated a major non-NATO ally."  Despite some initial misgivings about Congress's perceived intrusion into the President's foreign affairs authority, the Bush administration subsequently submitted a letter to Congress on August 29, 2003, designating Taiwan as a major non-NATO ally.
  Around the same time, invitations were sent to Thailand and the Philippines, both of whom accepted. Singapore was reportedly offered a similar arrangement, but turned the offer down.
  In 2014, following the 2014 Crimean Crisis, a bill was introduced to the United States Congress to grant major non-NATO ally status to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. In May 2015, US President Barack Obama declared his intention to make Tunisia a non-NATO ally while hosting his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi at the White House.  During a 2015 Camp David summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council states, the Obama administration considered designating Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar as MNNAs.
  The designation of certain countries as major non-NATO allies has not been without controversy. US Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX) and Rick Nolan (D-MN) introduced H.R. 3000, a bill to revoke Pakistan's position as an MNNA, citing inadequate counterterrorism efforts, the harboring of Osama bin Laden and Pakistani support for the Taliban.
  In 2017, General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of having ties to terror groups. Reuters reported that "possible Trump administration responses being discussed include expanding U.S. drone strikes and perhaps eventually downgrading Pakistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally."
  In 2019, Donald Trump designated Brazil as a major non-NATO ally after receiving a working visit from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. A bill to make Ukraine a major non-NATO ally was introduced into the US House of Representatives in May 2019. In June 2019 US lawmakers provided for enhancements to India's status, though this fell short of making them a MNNA.
caption: Prayut Chan-o-cha, commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, in Arlington, Virginia, June 6, 2013
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