During a working trip to Sakhalin, Russian President Vladimir Putin heard a report from the commander of the Pacific Fleet (PF), Admiral Viktor Liina, on the current situation in the Asia-Pacific region. The head of state instructed the Far Eastern sailors to give a symmetrical response to the illegal actions of Western states that detain Russian commercial vessels. Admiral Liina, in turn, assured that the fleet is already ready to begin carrying out these tasks. Details are in the RIA Novosti article.
The admiral concluded his report on the situation in the Asia-Pacific region with a briefing prepared on the basis of data collected by fleet intelligence over nearly five months. Specialists conducted a detailed analysis of maritime traffic in the region. Thus, in the Russian exclusive economic zone alone, along the South Kuril ridge, from April 24 to August 6, 1,001 vessels passed. Of these, 379 sailed under flags of unfriendly states, including 273 dry cargo ships and 71 tankers. Among them, 26 vessels belong to Great Britain and nine to France.
"At the same time, Western states are actively using vessels sailing under flags of third countries to transport their cargo. In essence, this is their 'shadow fleet.' We have the forces to inspect and detain vessels of unfriendly states and their 'shadow fleet,' interagency cooperation is established, and we are ready to begin solving these tasks," reported Viktor Liina.
Then the president explained why the Pacific Fleet's intelligence had been monitoring the commercial shipping of unfriendly states for months. He recalled that the authorities of some countries, in violation of international maritime law, are trying to restrict the movement of civilian vessels of Russian economic operators. And recently they have been openly discussing the possibility of seizing commercial ships and selling looted foreign property.
"Of course, this is piracy and robbery," the president stated. "If this begins to be implemented in practice, we will be forced to respond in kind. And not necessarily in the waters where raids on our ships and vessels are planned. But where we ourselves deem it necessary and appropriate. Anywhere, including in the area of responsibility of the Pacific Fleet."
In essence, Vladimir Putin reminded the potential adversary that it takes two to play pirates. And it is no accident that this warning was issued in the Far East. Russia has serious advantages over Europe in this region. First of all, the length of its maritime borders and exclusive economic zone, where the fleet can inspect anyone it deems suspicious. Many commercial routes pass through here, including those used by vessels of unfriendly states.
In addition, Russia benefits from the remoteness of the Far East from European naval bases. France and Great Britain physically cannot provide permanent military escort for their 'shadow fleet' vessels. They have too many tasks in the Atlantic and the Baltic. Moreover, the sea passage from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region takes about a month. Theoretically, the Americans could help them, as they have a significant military presence in the region. But it is unlikely that Donald Trump will rush to the aid of Europeans after they did not support his operation against Iran.
Russia, on the other hand, has the second most powerful fleet in the region, developed coastal infrastructure, and friendly China as a neighbor. The geographical factor, as Iran has been proving to the whole world for six months, can become a decisive strategic advantage. Simply put, Russia has every opportunity to seize and inspect European ships in the Far East. And the Europeans will not be able to do anything about it.
So, what forces will the Pacific Fleet need to detain and inspect vessels of the 'shadow fleet' of unfriendly states? First of all, inspection teams and, if necessary, boarding teams staffed with experienced fighters. In Europe and the United States, the practice of involving maritime private military company specialists to guard commercial vessels is widespread. They are often armed no worse than army units and can fight back. Therefore, inspection teams must be ready to suppress armed resistance.
In the fleet, boarding tasks fall on the marines. Yes, today many marine units are fighting in the special military operation zone. But from those remaining at permanent deployment points, it is quite possible to form a sufficient number of inspection teams in a short time. They do not need many, but they must gain practical skills in boarding a vessel from the air and from the sea. Any Russian dry cargo ship is suitable for training and practicing tactics.
Moreover, the Pacific Fleet marines already have experience in capturing large-tonnage vessels. On May 5, 2010, Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden captured the Russian oil tanker 'Moskovsky Universitet' with a displacement of 106,000 tons. The crew barricaded themselves in the engine room. The captain managed to contact the large anti-submarine ship of the Pacific Fleet 'Marshal Shaposhnikov' and ask for help.
The large anti-submarine ship caught up with the tanker in less than a day. Several groups totaling 16 people were formed for boarding. Some landed on the captured vessel from a helicopter, the rest arrived on high-speed motor boats. The pirates tried to shoot back but were quickly neutralized without losses among the marines. Yes, this story is many years old, but Russian military have experience in capturing large ships. And it is easy to adapt to today's realities.
The Pacific Fleet has no problems with ships for fighting the 'shadow fleet' of unfriendly states. Today, the combat composition includes more than 25 submarines and over 50 surface ships, naval aviation, coastal missile systems, deck helicopters, and high-speed boats. The Pacific Fleet is capable of completely blocking commercial shipping in its area of responsibility.
But this is not yet being discussed. Moscow has only warned unfriendly countries. And with figures in hand, it showed that it sees all their ships in the Far East, knows the routes and cargo flows. The political decision to respond symmetrically to the West has already been made. Whether a military decision follows depends on the Europeans themselves.