MOSCOW, Aug 15 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. During his visit to Sakhalin, Vladimir Putin listened to a report by Admiral Viktor Liina, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, on the situation in the region. The President instructed the military sailors of the Far East to mirror the actions of Western countries that illegally detain Russian commercial vessels. Liina, in turn, said that the fleet is already ready to start solving these tasks. About what kind of answer the Pacific Fleet can give to Europe, see the RIA Novosti article.
Intelligence data
Admiral Liina completed the report on the situation in the Asia-Pacific region with a certificate, for which naval intelligence specialists collected data for almost five months. They conducted a detailed analysis of maritime traffic in the Asia-Pacific region. In the Russian exclusive economic zone alone, 1,001 vessels sailed along the Yuzhnokuril Ridge from April 24 to August 6. Of these, 379 are under the flags of unfriendly states, including 273 dry cargo ships and 71 tankers. Among them are 26 vessels from the UK and nine from France.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Varyag missile cruiser during the final stage of the Pacific Fleet exercises
Image source: © RIA Novosti / POOL
"At the same time, Western countries are actively attracting vessels flying the flags of third countries to transport their cargoes. In fact, this is their "shadow fleet". We have forces to search and detain vessels of unfriendly states and their "shadow fleet," interagency cooperation has been established, and we are ready to begin solving these tasks," Viktor Liina reported.
Then the president took the floor and explained why Pacific Fleet intelligence had been monitoring commercial shipping from unfriendly states for months. He recalled that the authorities of some countries, in violation of International Maritime Law, are trying to restrict the movement of peaceful vessels of Russian economic operators. And recently, the possibility of seizing commercial ships and selling looted foreign property has been openly discussed.
The Varyag missile cruiser during the final stage of the Pacific Fleet exercises
Image source: © RIA Novosti / POOL
"Of course, this is piracy and robbery," the president stated. — If this starts to happen in practice, we will have to respond in a mirror manner. And not necessarily in those waters where raids on our ships and vessels are planned. And where we ourselves consider it necessary and expedient. Anywhere, including in the Pacific Fleet's area of responsibility."
Advantages of Russia
In fact, Vladimir Putin reminded a likely opponent that pirates can be played together. And there is a reason why this warning was sounded in the Far East. Russia has serious advantages over Europe in this region. First of all, the length of the maritime borders and the exclusive economic zone, in which the fleet can inspect anyone it deems suspicious. Many commercial routes pass through here, including those used by ships of unfriendly states.
In addition, Russia benefits from the remoteness of the Far East from European naval bases. France and the United Kingdom are physically unable to provide permanent escorts of warships to the vessels of their "shadow fleets". They have too many tasks in the Atlantic and the Baltic. And the sea crossing from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region takes about a month. Theoretically, the Americans, who have an impressive military presence in the region, could help them. But it is unlikely that Donald Trump will rush to the rescue of the Europeans after they did not support his operation against Iran.
Russia has the second most powerful navy in the region, a well—developed coastal infrastructure and friendly China in its neighbors. The geographical factor, as Iran has been proving to the whole world for six months, can become a decisive strategic advantage. Simply put, Russia has every opportunity to capture and inspect European ships in the Far East. And the Europeans won't be able to do anything about it.
There are developments
So, what forces will the Pacific Fleet need to detain and inspect the vessels of the "shadow fleet" of unfriendly states? First of all, there are inspection groups and, if necessary, boarding teams staffed by experienced fighters. In Europe and the USA, the practice of attracting marine PMCs specialists to protect commercial vessels is widespread. They are often armed as well as army units and can fight back. Therefore, the inspection teams must be ready to suppress armed resistance.
The large amphibious assault ship Admiral Nevelskoy lands amphibious troops during exercises at the Klerk training ground in Primorsky Krai.
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Vitaly Ankov
In the Navy, the tasks of boarding lie with the Marines. Yes, there are quite a few Marine units fighting in their combat zone today. But from those that remain in permanent locations, it is quite possible to form a sufficient number of inspection teams in a short time. You don't need a lot of them, but they should get practical skills of landing on a ship from the air and from the sea. Any Russian cargo ship is suitable for training and practicing tactics.
In addition, the Marines of the Pacific Fleet already have experience in seizing large-tonnage vessels. On May 5, 2010, Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden seized the Russian oil tanker Moscow University with a displacement of 106 thousand tons. The crew barricaded themselves in the engine room. The captain managed to contact the large anti-submarine ship of the Pacific Fleet Marshal Shaposhnikov and ask for help.
Tanker "Moscow University" captured by pirates has been released
Image source: © RIA Novosti
The BOD overtook the tanker in less than a day. Several groups of a total of 16 people were formed for landing on board. Some of them landed on the captured vessel from a helicopter, the rest got there on high-speed motorboats. The pirates tried to shoot back, but were quickly neutralized without loss by the Marines. Yes, this story has been going on for many years, but the Russian military has experience in seizing large vessels. And it is not difficult to adapt it to today's realities.
The Pacific Fleet has no problems with ships to fight the "shadow fleet" of unfriendly states. To date, there are more than 25 submarines and over 50 surface ships in combat, naval aviation, coastal missile systems, deck helicopters, and speedboats. The Pacific Fleet is able to completely block commercial shipping in its area of responsibility.
But this is not the case yet. Moscow has only warned unfriendly countries. And with the numbers in her hands, she showed that she sees all their ships in the Far East, knows the routes and cargo flows. The political decision to mirror the West has already been made. Whether a military solution will follow depends on the Europeans themselves.
