Russia’s Navy in the Pacific: the Forgotten Fleet?

Voici le reflet de mon article publié par l'US Naval Institute dans sa revue, Proceedings, au sujet de la flotte russe du Pacifique.

Référence : Proceedings Magazine - July 2018, 144/7/1,385

Moscow’s proclaimed “pivot to Asia” has mainly materialized since 2014 through deeper ties with China, a renewed dialogue with Japan, and an expanding Russian interest in the Korean peninsula. Since then, the Kremlin has sought to demonstrate to the Euro-Atlantic community its ability to circumvent sanctions and assert its status as a Pacific power. Despite the numerous security challenges on the Asia-Pacific stage, the Russian Navy’s Pacific Ocean Fleet has been neglected by Moscow. Recently, neither the astonishing ascension of the Chinese Navy nor the quiet increase of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force have compelled Moscow to undertake the renewal of its naval capabilities in the Pacific.

A Nuclear Deterrent Under Pressure

The main tasks of Russia’s Pacific Fleet consist of: nuclear deterrence, protecting offshore energy infrastructure, and showing the flag through port calls on the Asia-Pacific stage, in the Indian Ocean, and in the Mediterranean. While the Russian State Armament Program 2011-2020 comes to an end, Moscow has already drafted the next defense program covering the 2018-2027 period. The Navy should not get the lion’s share, as it did in the early 2010s when it was granted 25 percent of the then $664 billion budgeted. Of the five Russian naval fleets—namely the Northern, the Baltic, the Black Sea and the Pacific, plus the Caspian flotilla—the Pacific and Baltic Fleets are the “biggest losers” of the finishing defense plan. However, the nuclear strategic component of the Pacific Fleet is being renewed, as Moscow remains deeply committed to maintaining strategic deterrence in both the Northern and the Pacific theatres.

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