Category: Security policy

Ten months of use

"Not during our watch!" was the decisive reaction of the inspector of the navy to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in violation of international law. What does this mean in concrete terms for those on watch on board? Just a few days after the turn of the year, the frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern sailed to take part in Task Group 441.01, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Maritime), or VJTF (M) for short, for the third time. Strictly speaking, this is only an operationally equivalent commitment, but against the backdrop of the current security situation in Europe, it is nevertheless tantamount to a deployment. The permanent combat unit of the NATO Response Force is intended to...

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Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov - visiting strategic partners with a new long-range weapon

On the afternoon of 13 April 2023, the Russian frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" left the Suez Canal northwards with its support ship, the tanker "Kama". According to earlier Russian media reports, Tartus, Syria, is the next port of destination. Both units have been on a long-distance voyage since 4 January. From 17 to 26 February, they took part in the trilateral exercise "Mosi II". This was followed in mid-March by "Maritime Security Belt 23", a naval exercise organised by the Russian Federation, China and Iran in the sea area off the Iranian Chahbahar. After a stopover in Djibouti, the Russian unit headed for the Saudi city of Jeddah. It was the first port visit by Russian units...

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Joining NATO: a force not to be underestimated

For decades, Sweden and Finland were proud of their neutrality. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine led to a radical rethink. Less than three months after the start of the Russian invasion, the two EU states applied to join NATO. With an area of 338,472 square kilometres, the Republic of Finland is slightly smaller than the Federal Republic of Germany. However, only 5.5 million people live in this Nordic country. The majority of the Finnish population lives in the catchment areas of the major cities of Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Tampere, while the central and northern parts of the country are very sparsely populated. Finland has...

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Explosion hazard in the Pacific

China's power ambitions in the Pacific region are growing ever stronger. The United States and its allies are trying to counter this. This increases the risk of armed conflict. While the Ukraine war is currently the focus of media coverage in Europe, another area of crisis and tension has developed at the other end of the world, in South-East Asia. China's rise to naval power and its aggressive, primarily maritime expansionist ambitions, as well as North Korea's increasingly provocative missile and nuclear tests, have shaped security policy in the Indo-Pacific and transformed it into an area of crisis and tension with growing potential for military escalation. At the same time, China is colliding with the regulatory and security policy ideas of the...

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Inland sea with significance

In troubled times, the German Navy has all the necessary capabilities to assume a leading role in the Baltic Sea area. The Baltic Sea has never really been a "sea of peace"! Even the Hanseatic League fought here for the freedom of the seas and safe sea routes. During the world wars, the Baltic Sea was both a battlefield and an escape route, and during the Cold War it was both a deployment zone and the front line of the power blocs. To this day, it is an involuntary repository for the legacy of the world wars and at the same time an important trade route for the neighbouring countries and international shipping. The extent and quality of the critical infrastructure on the seabed there has steadily increased. In terms of energy supply and communication, the...

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