March 27, 2018
Send Navy Ships to the Baltic and Black Seas
Basing American vessels there would reassure our allies and restrain Putin
Forward-deployed” American naval forces — those that have home ports outside the United States, such as the forces currently based in Japan and Spain — have provided great strategic value to the United States over the past century. Their positioning far from home waters conveys to potential enemies that we are always present and always “interested” in the geographic regions where those ships sail. It also allows for a smaller overall naval force and reduces the distances involved for logistical-support vessels that normally have to operate far from America’s shores. It’s clear that we are once again immersed in a great-power competition with Russia and China. We should consider whether there are other regions, such as the Baltic and Black Seas, where U.S. Navy forces should be permanently based to provide support to allies and protect U.S. national interests.
The United States Navy has made use of forward-deployed naval forces for more than a century. An Asiatic squadron operated from ports in China and the Philippines during the 19th and early 20th century. After World War II, the Sixth Fleet protected American national interests in the Mediterranean during some of the tensest moments of the long Cold War. The Vietnam War was fought by ships operating from the deep-water port at Subic Bay, in the Philippines. Today, Navy ships take up station from bases in Japan and Spain. These bases provided strategic, fiscal, and logistics advantage.
Read the full op-ed on the National Review.
More from CNAS
-
Colombia Tariffs, Banning Chinese Drones, and Stacie Pettyjohn on Drone Warfare
Podcast
Emily and Geoff play a quick round of Tariff Tarot to dissect Trump’s tariff threats on Colombia last weekend. Then they dig in to the bipartisan debate over banning various c...
By Emily Kilcrease, Stacie Pettyjohn & Geoffrey Gertz
-
Don’t Talk About the War
Commentary
Confronting aggressors and getting them to the negotiation table requires both carrots and sticks—in other words, diplomacy and military power....
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
Sharper: Trump's First 100 Days
Commentary
Donald Trump takes office in a complex and volatile global environment. Rising tensions with China, the continued war in Ukraine, and instability in the Middle East all pose s...
By Charles Horn
-
Build a High-Low Mix to Enhance America’s Warfighting Edge and Deter China
Commentary
The Trump administration can take immediate actions to improve U.S. military capability, capacity, and warfighting to deter China and reverse negative trends in military power...
By Stacie Pettyjohn, Carlton Haelig, Becca Wasser & Josh Wallin
