Russia Finds a Logistics Port for Somalian Operations

One of the questions we have raised regarding the deployment of the Russian frigate RFS Neustrashimy (FF 712) to Somalia was where the logistics would come from. While certainly not a game stopper, as the United States Navy and NATO would welcome Russia's assistance in the area and help with logistics, part of the purpose of the deployment from the Russian perspective is to be able to conduct long range deployments without the assistance of the US or NATO.

It would appear the Russians have worked their diplomatic magic and developed the forward logistics agreements necessary to sustain the RFS Neustrashimy (FF 712).

A Russian delegation chaired by President of the Russian Senate Sergie Mironov left Sana’a last Thursday after a 22-hour visit during which it met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, Shoura Council Chairman Abdulaziz Abdulghani and other Yemeni government officials.

Speaking about military and strategic cooperation between Russia and Yemen, Mironov affirmed during a news conference in Sana'a that “Yemen agreed to allow Russian ships to use its ports for reaching strategic objectives, not as a station for them.” This information was confirmed by Russian official Novocity News Agency.

During the cold war, this announcement would not be received warmly by the United States, and it is a sign the cold war is over that the US media has outright ignored this announcement. In the future, when regional powers deploy naval forces forward, as Russia is in the case of Somalia, it will be a necessity for those powers to establish agreements in foreign ports where logistics services can be obtained. While the use of a Yemen port for a single Russian frigate will go ignored in the United States this time, we should use this example to look ahead into the future.

Because while it might be Russia today, it will probably be China tomorrow, and when a nation in the Middle East establishes an agreement for PLAN warships to resupply in the course of exercising Chinese strategic objectives in the Middle East or African seas, one can already predict the chorus of responses likely from both the media and political class.

In this case, RFS Neustrashimy (FF 712) will be participating as part of an international effort to curb piracy, an effort that shares objectives with the international community at large who have also deployed naval forces for the same purpose. Because in this case the purpose of the Russian ship deployment is in line with the interests of both the international community and the regional community, it is unlikely we will hear any negative rhetoric regarding this development.

But it sure will be interesting when we see something like this take place when it is not part of an international effort towards a shared purpose. One could easily see a scenario in the future where China establishes some sort of logistics agreement with a nation like Nigeria, as a way of adding security to China's economic investments widespread in the Gulf of Guinea. While such a move would be logical from the perspective of Chinese interests, I assure you the China hawks will be hyperventilating the threat the PLAN poses to the region (and the world no doubt) to everyone who will listen. Those same China hawks won't want to hear the counter claim that it is for exactly the same reasons we currently have a naval base in Bahrain.

As other nations, many whom may be competitors, step up and assume security roles in the maritime domain, to many it will have the look and feel of threat. It is never too early to start discussing this emerging reality of maritime security in emerging markets within the globalization economic model.