Actually we are a maritime nation.
We have a requirement for Merchant ships, Warships, MPA, SAR, Martime Strike, Coastal Patrols, Power projection, convoy escort et al...............
All the things we no longer invest in.
I only hope we never have to run a cross-Atlantic convoy system like our predecessors had to (twice in the last hundred years), or guarantee the security of our Merchant Fleet like our predecessors had to in the past (and now).
Our lack of foresight and capability in these key areas continues to baffle me. And like most capabilities - once it's gone - it's gone................ always too expensive to re-instate it.
Arc