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Navy News Week 9-1 NAVY NEWS WEEK 9-1 25 February 2018 Navy’s flagship HMS Ocean sold to Brazil for £84 million 17th February Navy’s flagship HMS Ocean sold to Brazil for £84 million The Ministry of Defence is selling the Royal Navy’s flagship vessel HMS Ocean to help plug a mammoth financial black hole. The £84 million sale to the Brazilian navy is due to go ahead next month and Ocean will sail to South America in the summer. Pressed on the amount of money that would be reinvested from the sale, an MoD spokesman confirmed it expected to yield a £55 million net profit, all of which would be pumped back into naval coffers. In its report published last month, the National Audit Office said that despite building in a £6 billion contingency, there was an “affordability gap” of at least £4.9 billion in the MoD’s equipment programme. However if all the risks of cost growth associated with the programme were to materialise the shortfall would rise to £20.8 billion, it said. HMS Ocean returned to Devonport in Plymouth in December following its final foreign deployment, which included assisting with the humanitarian efforts in the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma. Announcing the sale of HMS Ocean, Clive Walker, head of the Defence Equipment Sales Authority which managed the deal, said: “We have a proven track record of supplying surplus defence equipment on a government-to-government basis. “The successful sale of HMS Ocean to the Brazilian navy will provide a financial return to the UK which will now be reinvested in defence.” Modifications to HMS Ocean will be made by UK companies Babcock and BAE Systems, funded by Brazil, ahead of its transfer, the MoD said. It is understood the vessel will become a fully operational member of the fleet, rather than being used for display purposes. HMS Queen Elizabeth will eventually take on the role as the nation’s new flagship, and will be able to act as a helicopter carrier once its sea trials have been completed. The MoD spokesman said HMS Ocean’s helicopter-carrying capability would not be lost, with the likes of HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion able to take over those duties. Johnny Mercer, the Tory MP for Plymouth Moor View and a former Army officer and Afghanistan veteran, said HMS Ocean’s sale marked ” a sad day”. Writing on Twitter, he said: “I served on HMS Ocean. Sad day to see her go today, but determined our amphibious capabilities as a nation will only modernise and grow, and remain centred on #Plymouth. Looking forward to the Modernising Defence review later this year.” The amphibious warfare craft was host to Theresa May’s first visit on board a Royal Navy ship in December 2016, and five years earlier members of its aviation crew became unlikely internet sensations after their rendition of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You went viral. Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com Canada and Poland join six NATO Allies in developing next-generation maritime multi mission aircraft 15 Feb. 2018 - Last updated: 20 Feb. 2018 09:12 On Thursday (15 February 2018), Canada and Poland joined a multinational effort for developing follow-on solutions for aging maritime anti-submarine and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. At a signing ceremony at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Defence Ministers from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey welcomed Canada and Poland to the multinational effort on “Cooperation on Multinational Maritime Multi Mission Aircraft Capabilities.” “This joint effort recognises the fact that the majority of Allies’ maritime patrol aircraft fleets will be reaching the end of their operational lives between 2025 and 2035“ said NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller during the signing ceremony. She further encouraged the participants to “push on to the implementation phase. The goal here isn’t just a drawing board design – we need a new generation of aircraft, in the air, fulfilling what is an increasingly important mission”. The initiative offers participants the opportunity to adopt common solutions in this critical capability area. This will deliver better value for money, as well as operational benefits. Since 2017, the six Allies have started to define a common requirements document for future capabilities in this area, which should be completed in 2018. This work will provide a foundation for developing and fielding follow-on solutions. Source: https://www.nato.int NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (Feb. 12, 2018) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) departs Naval Station Rota, Spain. Carney, forward- deployed to Rota, Spain, is on its fourth patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of regional allies and partners, and U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Turner/Released) It’s nice to seeUS Navy ships show their battle honours. Philippines seethes over Chinese build-up in South China Sea President Rodrigo Duterte has tried to thaw ties with Beijing, but public pressure is growing to take a tougher stance to defend the nation’s maritime claims, writes Richard Heydarian By : Richard Heydarian Under Singapore’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Beijing is rapidly deepening military-to- military relations with its smaller neighbours. During the Asean Defence Ministers Meetings Plus earlier this month, China and Southeast Asian countries agreed on a series of new initiatives to solidify their burgeoning ties. Later this year, the two sides are set to hold their first-ever joint naval drills, signalling warming ties as well as China’s emergence as the new pre- eminent force in the region. They also reiterated the importance of operating various confidence building measures such as the proposed code for unplanned encounters in both air and sea. This way, all sides hope to avoid accidental clashes and other forms of misunderstanding in maritime flashpoints such as the South China Sea China’s defence minister, Chang Wanquan, who represented the Chinese side during the meeting, reaffirmed his country’s “deep friendship” with Asean. He spent five days in Singapore where he also met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, for a series of meetings aimed at ensuring ties are on an even keel. China and Singapore have been at odds in recent years over the latter’s warming relations with the United States and Taiwan, which Beijing treats as a renegade Chinese province. Singapore has also strained relations with China by emphasising compliance with international law, including the Philippines’ landmark arbitration award at The Hague contesting China’s claims in the South China Sea. Yet, relations have swiftly recovered in recent months. Singapore holds a particularly important role in Beijing’s ties with its southern neighbours since the city state is currently both the rotational chairman of Asean as well as country coordinator for Asean-China relations. Singaporean defence minister, Ng Eng Hen, who co-chaired the defence ministers meeting with China, called his Chinese counterpart a very good and solid friend of Asean, emphasising how the Chinese defence chief has “done a lot personally to try to move our bilateral defence relationship between China and Asean forward”. Yet, regional maritime disputes continue to be a source of tensions between China and some its regional neighbours, particularly Vietnam. During the Asean foreign ministers meeting, which was held during the same week in Singapore, regional diplomats did raise concerns over South China Sea disputes. According to Singapore’s Foreign Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, who chaired the meeting, Asean took “note of the concerns expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations and activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region”. China, Philippines talks silent on militarisation of South China Sea In particular, regional states have been worried about China’s alleged militarisation of its reclaimed land features in the South China Sea. According to various reports, Beijing has reclaimed as much as 290,000 square meters across the disputed Spratly chain of islands and beyond last year, including features claimed by Southeast Asian nations such as the Philippines. China’s expanding strategic footprint in the area has presented new challenges to burgeoning ties with countries such as the Philippines, which has sought warmer ties with the Asian powerhouse under President Rodrigo Duterte. In response to growing public pressure to take a tougher stance on Chinese maritime assertiveness, the Filipino president imposed new restrictions on maritime scientific research by Chinese and other foreign entities in the Benham Rise, which lies in the Western Pacific and is part of the Philippines’ extended continental shelf. China has been seeking permits for scientific research in the strategically located area, which is rich in seabed mineral resources as well as fisheries. Yet, elements within the Philippine government and civil society have heavily opposed granting China access in the area. The Philippines Defence Minister, Delfin Lorenzana, who has raised concerns over China’s intentions in the Benham Rise, has also confirmed to me that his government will push ahead with upgrading its civilian and military facilities on Thitu Island. The move is likely to provoke vigorous criticism, and possibly even armed countermeasures by China, which also claims the Philippine-occupied feature – the second largest in the disputed Spratly chain of islands. There are also calls, especially from China hawks, for the Philippines to strengthen maritime security cooperation with the US, Japan, Australia, and India, which seek to constrain Beijing’s maritime ambitions. Duterte seems committed to strong ties with China, but the Philippines’ defence establishment is toughening the country’s position in both its eastern (Benham Rise) and western (South China Sea) flanks.
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