Moscow is coordinating measures with other BRICS members to defend itself against “Western piracy”, alluding the seizure and blocking of several Russian oil tanker since the beginning of the year, according to the Chairman of the Maritime Board and Assistant to the President of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev.
“The fleets are working in coordination for the defense of trade routes that have now become more vulnerable (…) in the face of Western piracy,” the official told a local newspaper.
In this regard, he recalled the maneuvers held in January in the South Atlantic involving Russia, China, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, and alluded to exercises to be held soon in the Gulf of Oman.
“It is necessary to harness the potential of BRICS, which must be given a full strategic maritime dimension,” he noted.
Patrushev warned that the seas are increasingly becoming an arena for military confrontation. He pointed to the resurgence of gunboat diplomacy, citing recent developments in Venezuela and around Iran as evidence of this trend.
He asserted that any attempt to impose a maritime blockade on Russia is “illegal,” while accusing Western powers of seeking to “paralyze” the country’s foreign trade and warning that seizures of Russian vessels “will become more frequent.”
Patrushev warned that if Moscow does not respond to such actions, the British, French, and Baltic nations “will become emboldened to the point that they will try to block our country’s access to the seas, at least to Atlantic waters.”
To that end, he asserted, the Russian Navy must be reinforced in the coming years with ships capable of operating autonomously far from Russian coasts.Author: Victor Miranda
Source: EFE / TASS
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