The US isn't doing itself any favors by conducting military exercises in Europe's most tense region

• The US and other NATO militaries recently wrapped up the latest iteration of the Sea Breeze exercise, conducted with Black Sea countries, including Ukraine.
• Joint military exercises aren't inherently bad, but the US should only participate in them when doing so aligns with the US's strategic national security interests.
• Scott McCann is a Marcellus Policy Fellow with the John Quincy Adams Society.

The joint military exercise known as Sea Breeze recently took place in the Black Sea, where the US conducted exercises with nations including Ukraine.

According to the US Navy, the Sea Breeze exercise is an annual joint operation that brings the United States, "most" Black Sea Nations, and NATO allies together to pursue increased capability. Though joint military exercises are not inherently belligerent and unwise, any joint military exercises the US takes part in should align with its strategic national security interests.

The recent activities in the Black Sea do not meet that standard.

The 2021 iteration was the largest since the inaugural exercise in 1997. Thirty-two countries from six continents participated. Every Black Sea nation was represented except Russia.

Russia's exclusion isn't unexpected considering NATO's foundation and current tensions with Ukraine. However, US participation is an unnecessary provocation given that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia remains unresolved, and Russia's absence signals their role as the potential adversary.

Sea Breeze raises an important question. How does the exercise align with US strategic national security interests? The most direct answer is that it doesn't.

Ultimately, the exercise is counter-productive. The training started just a week after a controversial interaction between the British HMS Defender and Russian fighter jets. Accounts of the exchange are contested, but the Kremlin's statement illustrates that their goal is to produce a narrative in which they face a hostile threat but can respond successfully.

The opening ceremony in Odessa made clear the Sea Breeze's mission is to prepare for a Russian conflict. During the opening ceremony, Ukrainian Naval Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa stated that the exercises send a "powerful message to maintain peace and stability in our region."

USS Navy Capt. Kyle Gantt, along with other US commanders, emphasized that their maneuver emphasizes solidarity with Ukraine and sends the message that the Black Sea is an international sea and not the property of one nation.

Gantt went on to say the exercises take place "exclusively in Ukrainian and international waters," which aligns with NATO's position regarding Russia's annexation of Crimea as illegal and illegitimate.

These statements rest upon significant logical flaws. First, Ukraine's strategic value to the United States is overstated. Ukraine isn't an ally or NATO member, shouldn't be one, and occasional US hints that Ukraine is being considered for eventual NATO admission risk delaying a settlement between Kyiv and Moscow. NATO expansion toward the Russian borders has already stoked tensions in the region.

Second, what happens in the Black Sea is not a national security risk to the United States.

Given the events of 2014, the most significant risk in the Black Sea is to US reputation if it overinflates its commitment to Kyiv. Joint military exercises are often defended for their contribution to deterrence. In this case, that defense fails to hold water, considering the Sea Breeze exercises are an annual event, yet Russia still annexed Crimea in 2014.

The US balked when Russia invaded Crimea. That is not to say the US should have intervened. Balking was a comparatively restrained decision. However, pledging US solidarity with Ukraine seems like an empty promise, given the low chance of the US committing to fight a war to defend Ukraine against the only other nuclear superpower.

Other tests of resolve lie on the horizon, namely, Taiwan. If the US hopes to deter Chinese actions in forceful unification pursuits, pledging solidarity and claiming strategic importance in the Black Sea, then reconsidering when the moment arises undermines that message elsewhere.

In April 2021, the US and NATO called on Russia to deescalate tensions in the Black Sea and condemned its plan to restrict Black Sea access for military maneuvers. Three months later, Sea Breeze elevates tensions.

The United States should make decisions based on strategic national security interests. As in other areas, those decisions should apply to joint military exercises. Securing Ukraine's access to Sea of Azov ports and passage through the Strait of Kerch are not US national security interests.

Scott McCann is a Marcellus Policy Fellow with the John Quincy Adams Society and a finalist for the Charles Koch Institute's Koch Associate Program in foreign policy. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Louisiana State University and a master's in international studies with concentrations in international security, intelligence, and conflict resolution from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.