The updated Russian Naval Doctrine that President Vladimir Putin approved on July 31 allows the Russian Navy to access a wide range of newer options in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the region that India regards as Indo-Pacific. The updated document lays down Moscow’s new vision for the oceans of the world in the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine, and its cascading effects that are redrawing the rules of global diplomacy and economy.
“It also provides for establishment of the Russian logistics points with the necessary naval infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, with the enhancement of strategic cooperation with the Republic of India being among the top priorities of Russia’s naval policy in the Indian Ocean,” said the Russian Embassy.
The Russian side does not use “Indo-Pacific” and instead refers to the same region as “Asia Pacific” because of conceptual differences with India and its Quad partners.
Diversifying naval activities
Keeping in view Russia’s requirements in the Arctic region, the new additions to the naval doctrine envisages “diversifying and stepping up naval activities on the Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya archipelagos and Wrangel Island.” These activities will increase Russia’s military and economic presence in the region from north of Norway to the extreme east of the European continent.
The document aims at ensuring Russian access to global transport communications in the oceans as well as takes care of Russian interests in “hydrocarbons, which are of strategic importance for domestic consumption and promotion of foreign economic activities.” It therefore allows Russia to expand and protect its gas pipeline systems in the Black and Azov Seas.
