#Navy

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s administration is trying to get a leg up on development of the Northern Sea Route. Earlier this week, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev stated to RIA Novosti that the amount of state supervision and control over the Northern Sea Route was “not acceptable,” especially in the eastern part. […]

As mentioned in my last blog, I’ve been off the grid for a while.  I’m currently in Alabama hanging out with my 85 years young Mom but have been playing catch up with current events.  I have to get up every few minutes and stand in front of her air conditioner but then I gamely […]

Canada’s Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) have been in the pipeline for five years. Now, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has signed a CAN $9.3. million contract with the Nova Scotia-based Irving Shipbuilding to begin work on the vessels. It’s an important first step as for a while, even the number of AOPS Canada would acquire […]

The Royal Canadian Navy’s plans to acquire six to eight ice-capable Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) are facing yet another obstacle. On Tuesday in the Canadian House of Commons, the 2012-13 Reports on Plans and Priorities were tabled. The reports sum up the expected revenue, expenditures, and projects of each government agency and department in Canada. National Defence’s […]

The Canadian government recently announced the results of the bidding process to construct vessels for the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy. Canada plans to spend $33 billion on 28 large combat and non-combat vessels over the next 30 years. As part of that procurement the Royal Canadian Navy is slated to receive six to eight Arctic […]

In his critically acclaimed book on the Indian Ocean last year, author Robert Kaplan warned that with growing Sino-Indian rivalry, the “the Indian Ocean and its adjacent waters will be a central theater of conflict and competition.” It seems that Kaplan’s prophetic claim was made none too soon. Last week, an editorial in the Global […]

According to Turkish daily Sabah, Turkey’s new strategic focus is shifting from the Aegean towards East Mediterranean. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had indicated earlier that Turkey would take steps towards ensuring freedom of navigation in Eastern Mediterranean, as a reaction to the Palmer report. In the following days it is expected that the Turkish Navy […]

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently traveled to China in hopes of lowering tensions and reestablishing high level bilateral military ties between China and the United States.  This comes on the heels of increasing border tension between China and its neighbors.  One of those neighbors , America’s strongest ally in the region, is Japan.   The […]

Indonesia’s military has been busy lately, and not just perusing terror suspects, but in activities one might consider a serious misallocation of resources.  The Indonesian Navy has deployed Marines to the barren island of Jemur, one of nine islands in the Riau (Arwah) Archipelago,  in response to both the Travel Journal and Osvaja.net listing it as part of the Malaysian […]