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| Russia's new Naval Doctrine: what's new in it besides frankness? |
| 2022-08-04 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Alesandr Saveliev [REGNUM] A new Naval Doctrine has appeared in Russia. It was approved by a decree of the President of Russia V. V. Putin on July 31, the day of the Navy. The multi-page document, in full accordance with the title, is strategic, at the same time complex and specific. The absence of the usual vagueness, a clear prioritization and frankness in identifying problem areas favorably distinguish the new Naval Doctrine from many other documents. The previous one was adopted in 2015. Seven years is not long enough to radically change strategic priorities, so the new doctrine is largely clarifying and concretizing. First of all, much more attention is paid to security issues, taking into account the long-term nature of the confrontation between the Russian Federation and NATO led by the United States in the context of their actively waged hybrid war to destroy Russia. Chapter 2 of the document "National Interests, Challenges and Threats to the National Security of the Russian Federation in the World Ocean" is devoted to these issues. Chapter 1 contains general provisions and definitions - the very logic of building the Naval Doctrine speaks of the highest priority of security issues for Russia. Ensuring maritime security is interpreted broadly: not only as the protection of maritime borders, but also as a presence in the oceans, the protection of key routes and communications, including underwater ones (pipelines and cables). The reference to "the lack of a sufficient number of bases outside the Russian Federation to provide ships and vessels of the Navy performing tasks in remote areas of the World Ocean" indicates Russia's intention to develop a network of naval bases to ensure its national interests in those regions which she considers to be her priority. The issue of shipbuilding and shipbuilding is still acute, both for the Navy and for increasing the capabilities of the merchant fleet. The doctrine emphasizes the need to achieve technological self-sufficiency in the industry, maximize the utilization of domestic production capacities and localize the industry in Russia. Import substitution in technology is one of the most painful issues in the Russian economy, including in the military-industrial complex. If it is not resolved in the coming years, Russia may forever lag behind competitors in the transition to a new technological order, which will inevitably affect not only the civilian sector of the economy, but also the country's defense capability. The issue of the need for an integrated approach to the port economy was pointed out. The access roads, the actual transshipment (loading and unloading) capacities of the port and the tonnage of the fleet should correspond to the cargo turnover predicted for the medium term. Otherwise, bottlenecks will have to be constantly “opened up” when ships and railway cars stand idle for weeks waiting for their turn to be processed at the port. This is a well-known and long-standing problem, the solution of which requires the coordination of relevant departments and companies using port facilities. Russia's priorities in the World Ocean have been revised in the new Naval Doctrine of Russia. The Baltic direction gave way to the first place in the Arctic. This is apparently caused by the ongoing melting of the ice, which expands the possibilities of navigation. As a result, the Arctic coast of Russia is gradually becoming one of its most important borders - the length of the Northern Sea Corridor (Northern Sea Route - NSR) alone is 5600 kilometers. The Arctic shelf is still little explored, but already known geological exploration data indicate significant deposits of minerals. In addition, the NSR is the shortest route from China and other Far Eastern countries to Europe; this factor makes Arctic transit competitive even if ice assistance is required. For control over the minerals of the Arctic shelf and transit routes, a serious struggle flares up between Russia on the one hand and the United States, Canada and their allies from Northern Europe on the other. In the new Maritime Doctrine, the NSR is called the national transport artery of Russia, that is, the sovereignty of the Russian Federation over territorial waters and the Northern Sea Corridor is emphasized. The Baltic direction is not indicated in the new Naval Doctrine, now it is referred to the Atlantic direction, which obviously reflects Russia's growing ambitions for presence in the World Ocean. The Atlantic direction is listed third in the new doctrine, followed by the Pacific direction. The growing geopolitical tension in the region and the need for intensive development of the Russian Far East make the Pacific area one of the key ones in Russia's strategic plans. The new Naval Doctrine emphasizes the importance of the Caspian Sea. Five states are located along the coast of this relatively small and closed sea, four of which are former republics of the USSR. Rich in natural resources and fragile in terms of ecology, the Caspian Sea is becoming increasingly important as a crossroads of international transport corridors East-West and North-South. Despite its small size, the Caspian Sea is listed fourth in the list of priorities in the Naval Doctrine. The Indian Ocean direction became the fifth most important. At the same time, the doctrine speaks of the need to create bases for the Navy in the Persian Gulf and other Indian Ocean regions. Russia intends to project naval power into one of the most geopolitically complex regions of the world. The new Naval Doctrine of the Russian Federation is very ambitious. At the same time, it speaks quite frankly about existing problems and bottlenecks. Now it's up to the performers and coordinators of the tasks. Whether Russia will become a truly great maritime power or trail behind the United States and China depends primarily on the organizers of the work. |
| Posted by:badanov |