NATO has doubled its response force and a special high readiness "spearhead force" has been established which can be deployed within days if Russia plans to invade a Baltic country, according to Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius.
In an exclusive interview to Times of India a week before his maiden visit to India, PM Butkevicius has urged the Indian leadership to use its bilateral contacts and make Russia understand the supremacy of international law and "express its support to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity".
The reaction comes on the day when a US think-tank has forecasted that Russian forces could reach the outskirts of the Baltic capitals in less than 60 hours because NATO lacks the teeth to defend its eastern-most members.
Based on an analysis of several war games scenarios, the think tank has predicted that it would take between 36 and 60 hours for Russian battalions to occupy the Estonian and Latvian capitals of Tallinn and Riga.
Calling Russia's aggressive posturing "the most serious challenge for the entire Euro-Atlantic security architecture since the end of the Cold War," PM Butkevicius told TOI that Lithuania is "actively improving its national defence capabilities".
"Last year, we reintroduced conscription and launched structural reform of land forces. This year, our defence expenditure will rise to 1.48% of GDP - up from 1.15% in 2015. There is a political consensus to reach the target of 2% of GDP until 2020. Our weaponry is being modernized. In 2016, a deal on armoured fighting vehicles is expected. This will be the largest procurement in Lithuania's most recent history."
He added, "There is a growing understanding in NATO, that in order to make any possible armed aggression against the Baltic States an awkward endeavour, there should be more presence of allied forces in our region. The next NATO summit in Warsaw this July will therefore be very important, as we expect decisions on multinational forward presence of NATO combat forces and prepositioning of military equipment and constant exercises. This would signal Alliance's resolve not just to respond to a possible military aggression against an ally, but also to substantially enhance our resilience to any conventional or hybrid threats".
Lithuania reintroduced military conscription - compulsory enlistment of youngsters in its military service, to build up a viable military force which can combat a Russian invasion.
Lithuania had abolished conscription in 2008, four years after the country acceded to NATO.
The country at present has a 16,000-strong armed forces and expects to have 3000 additional soldiers through conscription.
PM Butkevicius said India must not tolerate Russia's most recent aggression against Ukraine - the annexation of Crimea.
"India, as one of the biggest and most powerful members of the international community has an important role to play in this regard. We believe Indian leadership uses its bilateral contacts with Russia, as well as joint activities in forums like BRICS, to underline the supremacy of international law," he told TOI.
PM Butkevicius will arrive in Mumbai on February 12 for a five-day India visit. He will meet PM Narendra Modi in Mumbai on February 13.
"I am planning to invite PM Modi to visit Lithuania. The year 2017 will mark not only the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations but also the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of India. In 2018 we will celebrate the Centennial of the Republic of Lithuania as well. It would be an honour to commemorate one of these occasions together with the Prime Minister of India," PM Butkevicius said.
Military tension has reached an all-time high between the West and Russia prompted by the recent Ukraine crisis leading to violations of national airspace, emergency scrambles, narrowly avoided mid-air collisions, close encounters at sea and simulated attack runs over a very wide geographical area across Europe. A British think tank that has looked at this serious crisis has confirmed 40 specific incidents that have occurred over the last eight months. The European Leadership Network identified 11 serious incidents of a more aggressive or unusually provocative nature, bringing a higher level risk of escalation.
These include harassment of reconnaissance planes, close overflights over warships and Russian 'mock bombing raid' missions.
Between January and September, the NATO Air Policing Mission conducted 68 'hot' identification and interdiction missions along the Lithuanian border alone, and Latvia recorded more than 150 incidents of Russian planes approaching its airspace. Estonia recorded six violations of its airspace in 2014, as compared to seven violations overall for the entire period between 2006 and 2013.
In an exclusive interview to Times of India a week before his maiden visit to India, PM Butkevicius has urged the Indian leadership to use its bilateral contacts and make Russia understand the supremacy of international law and "express its support to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity".
The reaction comes on the day when a US think-tank has forecasted that Russian forces could reach the outskirts of the Baltic capitals in less than 60 hours because NATO lacks the teeth to defend its eastern-most members.
Based on an analysis of several war games scenarios, the think tank has predicted that it would take between 36 and 60 hours for Russian battalions to occupy the Estonian and Latvian capitals of Tallinn and Riga.
Calling Russia's aggressive posturing "the most serious challenge for the entire Euro-Atlantic security architecture since the end of the Cold War," PM Butkevicius told TOI that Lithuania is "actively improving its national defence capabilities".
"Last year, we reintroduced conscription and launched structural reform of land forces. This year, our defence expenditure will rise to 1.48% of GDP - up from 1.15% in 2015. There is a political consensus to reach the target of 2% of GDP until 2020. Our weaponry is being modernized. In 2016, a deal on armoured fighting vehicles is expected. This will be the largest procurement in Lithuania's most recent history."
He added, "There is a growing understanding in NATO, that in order to make any possible armed aggression against the Baltic States an awkward endeavour, there should be more presence of allied forces in our region. The next NATO summit in Warsaw this July will therefore be very important, as we expect decisions on multinational forward presence of NATO combat forces and prepositioning of military equipment and constant exercises. This would signal Alliance's resolve not just to respond to a possible military aggression against an ally, but also to substantially enhance our resilience to any conventional or hybrid threats".
Lithuania reintroduced military conscription - compulsory enlistment of youngsters in its military service, to build up a viable military force which can combat a Russian invasion.
Lithuania had abolished conscription in 2008, four years after the country acceded to NATO.
The country at present has a 16,000-strong armed forces and expects to have 3000 additional soldiers through conscription.
PM Butkevicius said India must not tolerate Russia's most recent aggression against Ukraine - the annexation of Crimea.
"India, as one of the biggest and most powerful members of the international community has an important role to play in this regard. We believe Indian leadership uses its bilateral contacts with Russia, as well as joint activities in forums like BRICS, to underline the supremacy of international law," he told TOI.
PM Butkevicius will arrive in Mumbai on February 12 for a five-day India visit. He will meet PM Narendra Modi in Mumbai on February 13.
"I am planning to invite PM Modi to visit Lithuania. The year 2017 will mark not only the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations but also the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of India. In 2018 we will celebrate the Centennial of the Republic of Lithuania as well. It would be an honour to commemorate one of these occasions together with the Prime Minister of India," PM Butkevicius said.
Military tension has reached an all-time high between the West and Russia prompted by the recent Ukraine crisis leading to violations of national airspace, emergency scrambles, narrowly avoided mid-air collisions, close encounters at sea and simulated attack runs over a very wide geographical area across Europe. A British think tank that has looked at this serious crisis has confirmed 40 specific incidents that have occurred over the last eight months. The European Leadership Network identified 11 serious incidents of a more aggressive or unusually provocative nature, bringing a higher level risk of escalation.
These include harassment of reconnaissance planes, close overflights over warships and Russian 'mock bombing raid' missions.
Between January and September, the NATO Air Policing Mission conducted 68 'hot' identification and interdiction missions along the Lithuanian border alone, and Latvia recorded more than 150 incidents of Russian planes approaching its airspace. Estonia recorded six violations of its airspace in 2014, as compared to seven violations overall for the entire period between 2006 and 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment