The increasing NATO's presence in the Black Sea
Since Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has increased its presence in the Black Sea. Patrols by NATO Maritime Groups increased in 2018 to three patrols for each group for a total of 120 days of NATO Group presence over the year, compared to two patrols for each group and a total of 80 days in 2017.
Because allied nations border the Black Sea (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey), NATO regularly conducts exercises and operations in the Black Sea "to maintain a credible and capable defensive capability," NATO said in a news release.
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) arrived in the Black Sea today after a four-day port visit in Istanbul, Turkey to conduct the first NATO Group patrol in the Black Sea of 2019.
The group is conducting a routine patrol to enhance interoperability with Allied and Partner mariners in the Black Sea. As part of their patrol, the group will participate in exercise Poseidon, an annual mine countermeasures drill hosted by Romania and Bulgaria. In early March, Romania and Bulgaria will host the mine countermeasure exercise Poseidon 2019.
Also entering the Black Sea on Tuesday were the German Navy replenishment oiler FGS Werra and Turkish minesweeper TCG Akçakoca from NATO's SNMCMG2. In the Black Sea, they were joined by Bulgarian mine hunter BGS Tsibar, and by the Romanian minesweeper ROS Lt. Lupu Dinescu.
U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook, which entered the Black Sea last week to conduct joint exercises with Ukraine and other allies, has arrived at the port of Odesa, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
On the 25th of February 2019, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer departed from Batumi, Georgia, where it conducted an exercise with two of the nation's coast guard ships, arrived at the port of Odesa
NATO's naval presence in the Black Sea will be intensified this year.
USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy named for Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Donald Cook. This ship is the 25th destroyer of her class; its construction began on 9 July 1996. The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multifunction passive electronically scanned array radar. The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA. It uses powerful computer and radar technology to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets.
Why is NATO increasing its presence in the Black Sea?
On November 25, the coast guard ships of the Russian Navy attacked the ships of the Ukrainian Navy, which have been carrying out a scheduled transition from Odesa port to Mariupol port in the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian ships were rejected passage via the Kerch Strait, Russian coast guards opened aimed fire on them.
All 24 sailors on board were captured and delivered to Moscow – 21 of them were delivered to Lefortovo remand center, another - to the hospital of Matrosskaya Tishina prison. All of them called themselves prisoners of war.
On December 3, the Russian prosecutors officially accused Ukrainian sailors with the 'illegal crossing of the state border' during the attack in the Kerch Strait.
The officials' reaction
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the presence of NATO ships in the Black Sea should be increased due to Russia's aggression, the press service of the head of state has reported; "We should increase the NATO presence in the Black Sea," the president said. He said that "after the illegal annexation of Crimea, it was completely ruined the balance in the Black Sea."
The President of Ukraine also said that the world coalition should speak from the position of strength with the Russian president. If the global coalition would be strong enough, if sanctions, which are extremely efficient, will work, if all instruments of pressure which have… this conversation [with Putin] can be efficient," Poroshenko said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has noted that the Alliance is looking into strengthening its presence in the Black Sea region to support Ukraine. Speaking at a Brussels press conference following a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers, Stoltenberg said: "We had a very good discussion with Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak where all Allies expressed their very strong support to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. NATO Allies have of course clearly stated that Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine are unacceptable. The illegal annexation of Crimea, the continuing efforts to try to destabilize Ukraine through its efforts and presence in Donbas, and also, of course, the totally unjustified seizure of the Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait."
He added that the Allies strongly support Ukraine politically and practically. "We are now looking into what more we can do," said the NATO chief. He elaborated that that various trust funds had been set up in support of Ukraine, in particular, to help in command and control issues, cyber, and organizing security and defense institutions. Besides, a number of Allies have been training Ukrainian troops. "We are looking into whether we can increase our presence in the Black Sea and in the near future, in a few days, we'll have NATO ships in the Black Sea, participating in an exercise. So we have significantly increased our presence at sea but also in the air and on land in the Black Sea region. All of this is also part of our support to Ukraine," said Stoltenberg. He has assured that the Alliance will "continue to support" the country.
Bulgarian Navy Rear Adm. Mitko Petev, commander of the Tsibar, said the exercises demonstrate the alliance's commitment to each country.
"SNMCMG2 is the most prepared group of NATO's Response Force, the standards in this group are extremely high."
The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union advocates an increase in NATO's presence in the Black Sea, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday.
"While Europeans apply decisions on sanctions and must continue to do so strictly, NATO should strengthen further its deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern flank. That is why Romania supported enhanced cohesion on the eastern flank between its northern and southern parts. The Black Sea region, where the security environment is increasingly challenged, as we have recently seen, needs more NATO presence", Iohannis said at the Munich Security Conference.
Cmdr. Matthew J. Powel, commanding officer of the Donald Cook, said that ”The United States and the US Navy continue to stand alongside our allies and partners in support of shared regional interests and maritime stability”
Russia’s reaction
The country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko was speaking in advance of the arrival of several NATO warships which will conduct a series of naval drills in the Black Sea in the next few days. He told Russia’s state-run news agency TASS: "This is not a surprise for us; they have been saying for a while that they want to strengthen their positions in the Black Sea. We are talking about the strengthening of military and maritime forces of NATO member states, first and foremost, Romania and Bulgaria, plus non-coastal states entering the Black Sea more often.
Moscow’s state news agency, Tass, reported Tuesday that the Russian Black Sea Fleet was “continuously tracking” the Donald Cook’s movements.
The strategic importance of the Black Sea
The Black Sea region is of crucial significance for Europe, being a major crossroads and critical intersection of east-west and south-north corridors. Many experts believe that whoever controls or dominates the Black Sea can easily project power to the European continent, mainly in the Balkans and Central Europe, but also in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the South Caucasus and the northern Middle East.
For millennia, the Black Sea region has been an intersection of communication lines between Europe and the Middle East, from the Eastern Balkans to the South Caucasus. The security of these lines of communication is crucial for trade and prosperity in the region and beyond. In this context, it is obvious that the current instability chokes economic development and potential in the region, which sea trade and closer economic integration could uncap.
The Black Sea region is the south-eastern flank of the Alliance. In light of the regional realities and security challenges, NATO has strengthened its deterrence and defence posture with tailored forward presence measures. These are a peacetime demonstration of NATO’s resolve to ensure effective deterrence and credible collective defence.
The tailored forward presence measures include a land component – a multinational framework brigade for integrated training – as well as measures for strengthened air and maritime presence in the region.
The challenges to security in the Black Sea region are all interconnected and inextricably intertwined in the wider context of Euro-Atlantic security.
Post-Soviet protracted (often called ‘frozen’) conflicts are all concentrated in the Black Sea region. They create ‘grey zones’ that potentially could or are already fueling organised crime, smuggling and radicalization. It requires little effort to see how Russia exploits all of them for political intimidation of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union.
For NATO this is clearly a challenge, since all those conflicts have significant potential to destabilise the whole region rapidly.
This news is a draft, it will be completed as new reactions or events will occur.
Source:
https://www.stripes.com/uss-donald-cook-returning-to-black-sea-1.569292
https://www.rt.com/news/449218-us-destroyer-black-sea/
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/115204.htm
