Originally Posted by
Asturias56
I don't think General Sanders is thinking of a big boost for RN funding WEBF
The Army will point at Ukraine and point out they don't seem to need a navy to stop the Russian hordes
Will they? Ukraine could have done with some naval power to stop the Russians from blockading them and using the Black Sea as a place from which to launch cruise missile attacks. The whole business of resupply would be a whole lot easier if Ukraine had ports open for international use. There are also the issues of Ukraine not being a member of NATO, and the Montreux Convention. The First Sea Lord recently spoke about the maritime aspects of the war in Ukraine:
First Sea Lord's speech to the Council on Geostrategy - Royal Navy
So today I want to lay out some of the factors I think are germane to this analysis: I’ll cover the impact of the conflict in Ukraine, how this affects our strategy, and the need to look at the wider picture. My underlying message is this: focussing solely on the Russian bear risks missing the tiger. The conflict in Ukraine offers a number of lessons for us: the first shows the interconnectedness across the global commons. Rising fuel prices, shortages of food staples and raw materials are all, in part, traceable to Russia’s illegal invasion. By trying to choke Ukraine’s access to the sea, Russia is restricting the Ukrainians’ ability to trade and exercise their rights of free and open access. The world is being held ransom to a maritime blockade. It is that stark.
The world has woken up to the risks that Russia’s invasion poses. NATO has a new energy and cohesiveness about it, and most of us agree that it sure was not in Putin’s long term strategy to persuade neutral nations Finland and Sweden to apply to join.
As the Chief of Defence Staff said over the weekend, Russia represents a near and present danger to us, and to which we must respond. So as we in the western militaries move to ensure we can deter further aggression along the border of eastern Europe, Putin has, through his actions, created a new Iron Curtain from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
But – and to use a nautical analogy – we must take care to scan our binoculars across the whole horizon. The risk of focussing solely on Russia is that you miss the long term strategic challenge posed by China.
You will have heard the thoughtful speech put forward by my colleague General Patrick Sanders where he sets out the Army’s need for a fundamental change in how they think and structure themselves. An Army prepared for a prolonged fight in Europe. It is a profound moment for them.
As for Vlad The Terrible and his circle of barbarians:
US and Nato are Russia’s main naval threats, Vladimir Putin says
Vladimir Putin has cast the US and Nato as its biggest naval enemies and called for an expanded presence in the disputed Arctic region as he outlined a new doctrine for the country’s navy.
The Russian president laid out plans to project itself as a “great maritime power” with orders to increase activities around Svalbard, a strategically important Norwegian archipelago close to the North Pole, during a speech to mark Russia’s Navy Day in St Petersburg.
A 55-page document signed by the president said Washington’s “strategic objective to dominate the world’s oceans” as well as Nato expansion were the key threats to Russian national security.
Mr Putin said the Russian navy was “able to respond with lightning speed to anyone who decides to encroach on our sovereignty and freedom”.