24 March 2009 : APP
LONDON, March 24 (APP)‑A NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) Commander and up coming British Naval Chief has said the multi‑national force is playing a crucial role in protecting the global trade by marshalling the sea lanes in a effective manner.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, Royal Navy Commander‑in‑Chief Fleet and Commander, NATO Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood, said this in the context of a talk delivered on 'NATO: Building Maritime Security’ at the International Institute of Strategic Studies on Tuesday.
As the Commander‑in‑Chief Fleet, Mark Stanhope is responsible for providing ships, submarines, aircraft and Royal Marine units ready in all respects for any operations that the UK Government requires.
As a NATO Commander, he is the maritime advisor to the Joint Force Commander (Brunssum) and is tasked to ensure NATO maritime forces are ready to engage in joint and combined operations as required by the North Atlantic Council. He is also directly responsible for elements of the Standing NATO Response Force.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope will take up post as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, British Navy, on July 21 2009.
In his lecture, the Admiral discussed NATO's evolving contribution to Global Maritime Security. In this 60th anniversary year of the military organisation, he also addressed changes to NATO's Maritime operations since the end of the Cold War, and how it is evolving to match the future challenges.
He said with 90 per cent of all global trade sea bound and some five thousand merchant ships sailing at every given time, NATO responsibility towards protecting the trade has grown over the years.
The Admiral also noted that the Mumbai attacks, energy dispute with Russia, piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the violence between Gaza and Israel have added new dimensions to the global security concerns.
Sir Mark mentioned the need to align the NATO doctrine to new realities and said the old one is outdated as it has not kept pace with the changing realities.
Regarding the Royal Navy, he said 28 per cent of the British military personnel now deployed in Afghanistan belong to the navy. He also welcomed the return of France to NATO command structure and said it will strengthened the organisation.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said the British Navy need more modern vessels to meeting growing requirements.
