It is highly probable that the pandemic may have imposed reservations and delayed this show of strength in protecting the busy trade routes from both West to East and vice versa to Asia Pacific?
by Victor Cherubim
Navies of the world just don’t build aircraft carriers with the latest warfare technology to anchor them at home seaports as showpieces. The job of the navy is not only to protect the seas surrounding the national waters, but it’s main job is to test its capacity,its capabilities,its congruence in international maritime warfare.
According to the strategic opinion of many of our retired Sri Lankan Admirals, wars are won not on land, but on the seas surrounding, and who can doubt it? We have seen it happen, not only in our small island nation, but as to the rationale of the naval fleets around the world, who keep building more and more expensive naval surveillance, including the most sophisticated aircraft carriers today.
Aircraft carriers are operated by the Navy, the Marines or the Army and not by the Air Forces, perhaps, to confirm the above intelligence.
As of May 2021, we are told, there are 44 active aircraft carriers in the world operated by 14 navies. Understandably, the US Navy we are informed, has 11 large nuclear powered air fleet carriers carrying around 80 fighter aircraft,with a combined deck space of over twice the other nations combined.
We also know the world’s largest carrier is the USS Nimitz, which is currently at sea near Victoria,British Columbia, Canada,positioned for warfare in the Eastern Pacific.
But China, according to naval reports, has the world’s largest navy. Unlike the US, China's fleet relies disproportionately on smaller classes of ships, perhaps not as many aircraft carriers. As reported by the US Department of Defence and confirmed by the US Office of Naval Intelligence , the People's Liberation Army/Navy of China (PLAN) has surpassed the US Navy in total battle force ships, approximately 360 and expected to grow to 400 by 2025. This we are also told,includes 46 diesel powered attack submarines, 06 nuclear powered attack submarines and 04 ballistic missile submarines. There must be some reason for China not to build large aircraft carriers, while some of the G7 nations of the world and Russia are continuing to build sophisticated aircraft carriers?
HMS Queen Elizabeth, is the newest UK’s Aircraft carrier
The mighty carrier Queen Elizabeth, left Portsmouth for its seven-month global venture a few days ago in late April 2021. We are told its first task will be to join the naval part of “Exercise Joint Warrior”, UK led “war-games” in which ten nations take part, with 31 warships,three submarines, 150 aircraft and around 13,400 military personnel involved.
According to the Daily Express,before sailing “HMS Queen Elizabeth took delivery of 924 pallets of food and F-35B Jet Engines worth an approx. £20 million each in preparation for its 25,000 nautical mile voyage, which will see it visiting 40 countries and taking part in 70 engagements. It will carry 32 helicopters and jets and its complement will include 250 US Marines”?
What’s all this preparation about?
We are also told that Russian surveillance submarines,it is alleged, have recently been spotted off the coast of northern Scotland.To add to this speculation, or so it seems, it was also reported that a Russian nuclear submarine was following close to the Royal Navy’s Fleet base in Scotland. There is no way laymen like me can confirm the same. The General Intelligence Gathering vessels believed to belong to the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet, perhaps bristling with listening and interception devices were spotted by a US Navy maritime patrol aircraft, based at RAF Lossiemouth, south of Iceland. We also know it is an extension of the Arctic ocean.
It may be the expectation that HMS Queen Elizabeth is not only participating in this naval exercise as part of a “showing the flag” in protecting the trade route in its voyage through to the Indian Ocean past the Suez, but is also expected to test its newest sophisticated technical equipment on board,during this exercise. Every new equipment has to be tested and there is no better way to do this simultaneously.
Why now?
It is highly probable that the pandemic may have imposed reservations and delayed this show of strength in protecting the busy trade routes from both West to East and vice versa to Asia Pacific?
It is also possible that the departure of President Donald Trump in Washington, may have left an incomparable diplomatic vacuum with China’s expansion, which somehow has to be filled to keep up the equilibrium balance of power in world order? Further, could it be a message to President Putin not to escalate the Ukranian border dispute in the Black Sea causing additional NATO nations troop deployment?
A warning against potential suicide attack on transitting vessels in the region by the Houthi rebels,could well be as another. Besides, the hope of control of the nuclear enrichment treaty with Iran,or perhaps, a show of force to keep the Myanmar Generals in check, may be some of the reasons for this flotilla?
Your guess could be better than mine, as to why now?
Post a Comment