Category: Security policy

Royal Navy of the 21st century?

Beijing is massively arming itself, particularly in the maritime sector. The return of Asian naval power is challenging the West - once again. It is over. It's over. Taiwan can no longer be defended. At least not militarily. China is too strong. Now also for the United States. This is how one could summarise the Pentagon's conclusion. The US Department of Defence has already simulated the defence against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan eighteen times. Eighteen times the simulation ended in defeat for the Americans. How could this happen? Should the mighty US Navy with its large aircraft carrier battle groups no longer be able to control the Taiwan Strait?

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Germany is located on the South China Sea

Maritime Convention 2021 In his welcoming address, the President of the German Maritime Institute, Rear Admiral (ret.) Karsten Schneider, drew a line from the events of 11 September 2001 to the motto of this year's Maritime Convention "China! Maritime driver for Europe?" Originally planned as a face-to-face event, the event was switched to a digital format with the support of DVV Media due to the coronavirus pandemic. As usual, the German Maritime Institute organised the event together with Griephan. The key question of the first panel chaired by Heinz Schulte, "China is a Baltic Sea neighbour?", was answered by the Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to Germany, Laurence Bay, with a reversal: Germany and the EU are neighbours on the Baltic...

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The quest for control in the maritime space

After decades of the USA being regarded as the world's most important naval power, China is now preparing to take over this role. It is not yet clear how the competition will end. There are many definitions of sea power, but their connotations have changed in the 21st century. For a naval power, the sea is undoubtedly a strategic theatre, but there are other factors and scenarios that enable a country to be a "superior" naval power. Today, it is no longer enough to have a large fleet of ships, but it is also necessary to be present in maritime areas of interest and to have new deterrence and control capabilities....

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No new military alliance against pirates

In the fight against piracy off West Africa, shipping should not hope for an international military mission for the time being. The focus is currently on other measures, which have yet to prove their effectiveness. It's that time again: the Nigerian government is launching a new anti-piracy programme, or rather a maritime security programme - garnished with grandiose announcements and a display of confidence. There have been positive reactions from the maritime industry and politicians. But what will become of the Deep Blue project (see below), which the Nigerian government has already initiated to protect against pirates? It would not be...

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American-Norwegian defence agreement

Although the primary goal of Norwegian policy is to keep the Arctic free of military tensions and maintain good neighbourly relations with Russia, the country has initiated a change of course in recent years, which culminated in the defence agreement with the USA in April. Parliament still has to approve the agreement. This is Norway's response to the expansion of Russian bases on the Cola Peninsula and the Franz Josef Islands and the expansion and modernisation of the Russian Northern Fleet. The sober assessment from the Norwegian side is therefore that its own military capacities are no longer sufficient to be able to react appropriately to Russian pressure. The...

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