The United Kingdom has agreed to create a joint naval force with nine European nations to deter future threats from Russia across the "open maritime border" in the north, the head of the Royal Navy announced, UNN reports, citing The Guardian.
Details
General Gwyn Jenkins stated that despite the crisis in the Middle East, where the Strait of Hormuz remains closed following the US-Israeli war with Iran, "Russia remains the most serious threat to our security."
In his speech, the First Sea Lord stated that the 10 members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) signed a letter of intent last week to create a "multinational maritime force" that will act as a "complement to NATO."
The force will not include the US, whose president, Donald Trump, has repeatedly criticized the UK for failing to provide active support for the bombing of Iran, once referring to British Navy aircraft carriers as "toys."
Military cooperation between the US and the UK is at a low point amid disagreements between the two countries over the Strait of Hormuz. The US stated it needed help in breaking through the strait and criticized British and French negotiations regarding the creation of defense patrols after the war's end, calling them "pointless."
The JEF includes the Netherlands, all five Nordic countries, and the three Baltic states, with the UK being the largest military member. Canada is also considering joining, as some NATO members refine their responses to growing Russian aggression, the publication writes.
Earlier this month, the UK stated that Russian reconnaissance submarines were tracked during what appeared to be covert surveillance of underwater infrastructure around Britain.
"The number of Russian incursions into our waters has increased by nearly a third over the last two years," said the Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy, adding that he believes the UK has an "open maritime border with Russia in the north."
The goal of the new maritime force, which will be "commanded as necessary" from the UK military headquarters in Northwood, northwest London, will be joint training and preparation.
They will also be "designed to fight immediately if necessary, with real capabilities, real military plans, and real integration," Jenkins said, although, as the publication notes, the fleet struggled to provide a warship at the start of the war in Iran.
Jenkins, a former Royal Marine and special forces commander, said that "uncrewed escort ships"—large maritime drones—will sail alongside British warships over the next two years as part of efforts to build military capability but at a lower cost than before.