http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Estonian+military+source+Increased+Russian+naval+activity+in+Baltic+Sea/1135252437060
Helsingin Sanomat January 27, 2010 Estonian military source: Increased Russian naval activity in Baltic Sea Finnish military sees no dramatic changes in numbers of Russian vessels -The increasing presence of NATO and the United States in the Baltic Sea is also contributing to the greater Russian activity. “If the United States were to bring its planned anti-missile vessels into the Baltic Sea, it would bring about a reaction”, says Lieutenant-General Matti Ahola (ret.). Sources at the Estonian Ministry of Defence say that the Russian Navy increased its activities in the Baltic Sea in 2009. The Estonians make particular note of two large naval exercises, called Zapad and Ladoga, which together extended from the between Belarus-Lithuania border to the Leningrad Region. The exercises were the biggest in years in the Baltic Sea region, with units of the Russian North Sea and Black Sea fleets taking part. Already in 2006 Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the planned undersea natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany will increase Russian naval activity in the Baltic. “Russian Naval vessels operated in the Baltic Sea more than before, which they naturally have the right to do”, said an anonymous source at the Estonian Defence Forces. The ships carry anti-aircraft systems, missiles, torpedoes, and anti-submarine weapons. They do not have any nuclear missiles on board. In addition, there are Russian research and surveillance vessels in the Baltic, and surveillance aircraft are also active in the area. Russia’s Baltic fleet is not as large or as important as those in the Black Sea, the North Sea, and the Pacific, but the Estonian military source notes that there is a strong move to upgrade the Baltic fleet. The Finnish Navy has better capability than the Estonian military to monitor movements of Russian surface vessels, but it does not report its observations. Nevertheless, the Finnish Naval Staff says that the number of Russian ships in the Gulf of Finland has not increased. “It has remained more or less unchanged”, said commander Juha Savisaari to Helsingin Sanomat. As the Finnish Navy sees it, the gas pipeline will mean an increase in the presence of the Russian Navy in the area, but “a presence does not mean a threat”, Savisaari says. The Russian Navy is expected to become more active even without a gas pipeline, as the Gulf of Finland is becoming one of the most important channels of export of Russian oil to the West. The increasing presence of NATO and the United States in the Baltic Sea is also contributing to the greater Russian activity. “If the United States were to bring its planned anti-missile vessels into the Baltic Sea, it would bring about a reaction”, says Lieutenant-General Matti Ahola (ret.). The arrival of the gas pipeline is not seen by experts as causing any confrontations, as Russia wants to avoid any conflicts, and to keep the channel open. The reference book The Military Balance reveals that the number of ships in the Russian Baltic fleet has declined slightly since the early part of the century. There are two submarines in active use, and they have not been replaced by the new Lada class diesel submarines. “The capacity is very limited, and the navy is not capable of large operations”, says Major Heikki Lehtonen of the Strategy Department of the National Defence University, who follows Russian events closely. =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: rwroz...@yahoo.com or stopnato-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Daily digest option available. ==============================
