Royal Navy’s Gulf presence is key to global trade says Defence Secretary

Defence secretary Philip Hammond pledged the Royal Navy’s continued presence east of Suez – where its men and women will persist in keeping the sea lanes open.

In a speech yesterday in Washington to the Atlantic Council international affairs think-tank, Mr Hammond addressed the challenges faced by countries – and armed forces – as a result of the worldwide economic crisis.

He told the council that it was in the interests of all nations to ensure that “the arteries of global trade are kept free, open and running”.

Among those arteries is the Strait of Hormuz, gateway to the Gulf, through which around one fifth of the world’s oil passes on tankers – not to mention natural gas bound for the UK.

Mr Hammond told the council:

“Our joint naval presence in the Arabian Gulf, something our regional partners very much appreciate, is key to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for international trade.

“Disruption to the flow of oil through Strait of Hormuz would threaten regional and global economic growth. Any attempt by Iran to close the Straits would be illegal and would be unsuccessful.”

The Royal Navy has maintained a four-strong force of minehunters – presently Sandowns HMS Ramsey and Pembroke and Hunts HMS Middleton and Quorn – in the Gulf for the past five years, using Bahrain as the hub of its operations; the kingdom is also home to the Senior Service’s regional command centre, the UKMCC.

In addition, a destroyer or frigate – currently HMS Argyll – is deployed to the Gulf region pretty much round the clock. And there are frigates and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, plus specialist Royal Marine boarding teams and Fleet Air Arm Lynx and Merlin helicopters, working with the navies of the world in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to assist safe maritime traffic.

That long-standing effort, said Mr Hammond, would persist.

“The Royal Navy will continue to play a substantial role as part of the Combined Maritime Forces, both at the Headquarters in Bahrain, and through our mine counter-measure vessels which help maintain freedom of navigation in the Gulf,” he added.

Mr Hammond said vital to future prosperity and security was the ongoing alliance of NATO, many of whose member states faced the greatest economic challenge since the 1930s.

He concluded:

“Let’s work together to ensure that the resourcefulness that has allowed us to triumph in adversity in the past, is used to turn this fiscal challenge into an opportunity – an opportunity to work more closely and effectively together, to strengthen and renew the NATO Alliance as it enters the next phase of its proud history.”

As well as addressing the Atlantic Council, the Defence Secretary is in the USA to discuss ongoing US-UK operations in Afghanistan with his American counterpart Leon Panetta as well as the future challenges faced by the NATO alliance in the light of the current global economic crisis.