Category: Security policy

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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Full circle with a supertanker

After almost three decades, the Bundeswehr has returned to national and alliance defence. The necessary change can be mastered with system alliances. At the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the Bundeswehr - after 35 years of development - had achieved a good position in the conventional arms race with the Warsaw Pact and in comparison with the other NATO partners. As surprisingly as the Cold War ended, there was little certainty as to how the costly armed forces should continue. With the equipment and training for the large-scale, intensive war on the European continent, the Bundeswehr was deployed in a wide variety of different...

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Review of the Maritime Convention 2021

Originally planned as a face-to-face event, this year's Maritime Convention participants were able to listen to the two-part presentation on China! Maritime driver for Europe?! via webinar. The DMI hosted the event together with griephan in his customary expert manner. The key question of the first panel "China is a littoral on the South China Sea?" was answered by the Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to Germany, Mr Laurence Bay, in a reversal of the facts: Germany and the EU are littoral states on the South China Sea. He sees this not only in the presence of European merchant ships in this sea area and in the numerous branches of European companies in this region, more than 2,000 in Singapore alone...

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