United States for the militarization of its neighbors in the Caspian region
Washington intends to restrain Iran and the Russian Federation, arming its neighbors in the Caspian Sea, in view of the "growing importance of the security of the Caspian Sea in this region rich in oil and gas."This is stated in the American publication EurasiaNet, citing sources in the US State Department. The US intends to support the naval preparations of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
These countries have sharply increased their preparations in this region in recent years, starting a real arms race. The Azerbaijani Navy inherited a fairly good reserve from the USSR, they have increased it and currently have naval forces that are second only to the Russians, surpassing the Iranians.
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are creating their own navies; until recently they only had patrol and border forces, but now they are creating full-fledged flotillas with combat ships.
The publication notes: "The United States will continue to work with the Azerbaijani Navy to increase the security of the Caspian Sea, develop professional military education, expand opportunities to participate in joint peacekeeping operations and help move towards interoperability with NATO ..." In the future, Washington believes that Azerbaijan will be involved in the bloc NATO.
In the Turkmen direction, the Americans want to organize the training of local sailors in English as part of the IMET program. In Kazakhstan, the United States intends to help modernize the marine aviationin particular, US-made helicopters already in its arsenal.
The United States and previously supported these countries, for example, passing them patrol boats.
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After the collapse of the USSR, the division of the Caspian Sea was and still remains the subject of unresolved disagreements related to the division of the resources of the Caspian shelf - oil and gas, as well as biological resources. For a long time, negotiations were held between the Caspian states on the status of the Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan insisted on dividing the Caspian along the median line, Iran - on dividing the Caspian into one-fifth parts between all the Caspian states. The current legal regime of the Caspian was established by the Soviet-Iranian treaties of 1921 and 1940. These treaties provide for freedom of navigation throughout the entire water area of the sea, freedom of fishing, with the exception of ten-mile national fishing zones, and a ban on navigation in its waters of ships under the flag of non-Caspian states. Negotiations on the legal status of the Caspian are currently ongoing. The Russian Federation has concluded agreements with Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea for the purpose of exercising sovereign rights to subsoil use (dated July 6, 1998 and the Protocol to it dated May 13, 2002). There is an agreement with Azerbaijan on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea (dated September 23, 2002). A trilateral Russian-Azerbaijani-Kazakh agreement on the junction point of the delimitation lines of adjacent sections of the bottom of the Caspian Sea (dated May 14, 2003) was also concluded, which established the geographic coordinates of the dividing lines limiting the sections of the bottom within which the parties exercise their sovereign rights in the field of exploration and production of mineral resources.
After the collapse of the USSR, the division of the Caspian Sea was and still remains the subject of unresolved disagreements related to the division of the resources of the Caspian shelf - oil and gas, as well as biological resources. For a long time, negotiations were held between the Caspian states on the status of the Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan insisted on dividing the Caspian along the median line, Iran - on dividing the Caspian into one-fifth parts between all the Caspian states. The current legal regime of the Caspian was established by the Soviet-Iranian treaties of 1921 and 1940. These treaties provide for freedom of navigation throughout the entire water area of the sea, freedom of fishing, with the exception of ten-mile national fishing zones, and a ban on navigation in its waters of ships under the flag of non-Caspian states. Negotiations on the legal status of the Caspian are currently ongoing. The Russian Federation has concluded agreements with Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea for the purpose of exercising sovereign rights to subsoil use (dated July 6, 1998 and the Protocol to it dated May 13, 2002). There is an agreement with Azerbaijan on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea (dated September 23, 2002). A trilateral Russian-Azerbaijani-Kazakh agreement on the junction point of the delimitation lines of adjacent sections of the bottom of the Caspian Sea (dated May 14, 2003) was also concluded, which established the geographic coordinates of the dividing lines limiting the sections of the bottom within which the parties exercise their sovereign rights in the field of exploration and production of mineral resources.
Military preparations of the neighbors of the Russian Federation
Azerbaijan
- The flagship of the Azerbaijani Navy, the patrol ship Qusar (formerly the Project 159A Bakinets), after a lengthy modernization, retained two RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers. Its artillery armament. Two twin 76-mm AK-726 artillery mounts were supplemented with two twin 30-mm AK-230 machine guns. The R219 patrol boat (former Project 368U rescue boat) also received anti-submarine capability. In addition to the twin 25-mm 2M3M anti-aircraft mount and 14,5-mm machine gun, it was equipped with two RBU-1200 rocket launchers.
- With the help of the United States, Azerbaijan has created a special-purpose naval unit. The armament of this unit is still composed of ultra-small submarines of the Triton-1M and Triton-2 types, as well as underwater means of movement of the Siren type. Obviously, in recent years, its arsenal has replenished with other special means of production of the NATO countries. In any case, instructors of the US Navy SEAL sabotage and intelligence units work in this center.
- Conducts Baku and active military cooperation with Turkey.
Azerbaijan has RIB-36 boats for the transfer of special forces.
The patrol boat of the project 205P "Tarantula" of the Bokhr of the Red Army of Azerbaijan.
Iran
- Iran has 3 naval bases in the Caspian Sea - Bandar-Mehshahr, Bandar-Anzali, Bandar-Pahlavi (training). Iran has about 90 vessels in the Caspian Sea, including Chinese-made vessels equipped with rockets range of 120 kilometers. Iran also has the ability to increase its military potential by 1,5 times in a short period of time by transferring boats from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea. Iran has also announced plans to deploy several helicopter carriers to the Caspian Sea.
- The second missile destroyer under construction (in fact, this is a corvette) of the Jamaran type will serve in the Caspian. The displacement of this "destroyer" - about 1420 t, and the armament includes anti-ship missiles Noor, artillery installations and a helicopter, capable of providing target designation over long distances.
- Now Iran is building small missile boats of the Peykaap II type. In total, 75 units are planned to be commissioned. With a displacement of less than 14 T, they develop an 52-nodal full speed. Their armament consists of two Chinese-made FL 10 (C-701) anti-ship missiles. The range for the FL 10 is 15-20 km, and the warhead weight is about 30 kg. But, despite the modest characteristics, these missiles with mass use, namely, they are designed for it, can cause a lot of trouble. A part will go to the Caspian Sea, moreover, they are easy to redeploy, with the use of heavy vehicles it takes only a few days.
- It is possible that the appearance of small submarines of the Iranian Navy in the Caspian Sea, whose mass production was mastered with the help of North Korea. According to some sources, one or two mini-submarines of the Ghadir type are already operating in the waters of this sea. Their underwater displacement is about 120 t, length - 29 m, body width - 2,75 m. The main armament - torpedoes. They can transport combat swimmers. The diving range of such submarines under the snorkel is 1200 miles, that is, more than enough for the Caspian Sea.
It is planned to build 75 small rocket boats of the Peykaap II type.
Missile boat type Sina Navy Iran.
Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan is engaged in building a naval base in Aktau, and Kazakh cadets are studying abroad, mainly in Russia and in Turkey. In addition, small groups of Kazakh cadets are located in the United States, Germany, India and Pakistan.
- Before 2004, Astana had only border boats and one patrol ship; later, Ukraine purchased several Grif-type boats and 4 patrol boats of the Kalkan type.
- In 2006, South Korea, 3 artillery boats of the Sea Delphin type were transferred to Kazakhstan.
- In 2010, the USA transferred four amphibious boats to Kazakhstan on a gratuitous basis under the five-year plan for cooperation between the ministries of defense of Kazakhstan and the United States.
- Astana plans to purchase several (six) rocket-artillery ships of the 21632 “Tornado” project.
“Two Super Super Leopard missile boats were ordered from the Russian Federation, laid down at the Zenit plant in 2010.
- An agreement was reached on training on the basis of the reconnaissance and sabotage center (military unit 641) of the Azerbaijani Navy personnel of the marine special forces of Kazakhstan, given that the Azerbaijani combat swimmers were trained in NATO standards.
Turkmenistan
- There is a creation of a naval base in the port of Turkmenbashi, they are planning to create a 2015 year. A naval training institute will also be created here.
- In 2002, the Coast Guard received new patrol boats purchased from Ukraine, mainly the Kalkan-M and Grif-T.
- Iran delivered 2003 to Turkmenistan for a long-term lease of seven coast guard boats and one destroyer.
- As part of cooperation with the US Department of Defense, a Point Jackson class patrol boat entered the armament of the Turkmen Navy.
- In December 2009 of the year it became known that the Turkmen Navy received two Russian Sobol patrol boats.
- In 2008, Turkmenistan purchased three patrol vessels with remote-controlled missiles in Russia, as well as two smaller patrol vessels.
- In Russia, two Molniya-type rocket boats of the 12418 project were ordered. Each of them will carry 16 anti-ship missiles of the Uran-E complex with a firing range of up to 130 km. That is, these ships will surpass Iran’s Sina type RCA by four times in shock power, and the Russian patrol ship Tatarstan by two. In the future, these boats can get X-35UE Super-Uran missiles with a doubled firing range and a combined guidance system, which allows them to hit targets with high accuracy.
- In 2011, I bought two high-speed patrol boats from Turkey worth 55 million euros from Turkey. Attached to the ships is a 40-millimeter cannon made by the Italian defense company Oto Melara.
What is Russia?
The Russian Caspian Flotilla is currently the most powerful combat unit in the region, including coastal units. For example, a separate coastal missile division (OCMD) has joined the Caspian Flotilla in Kaspiysk. Additional positions for coastal missiles are equipped on a hill near the city of Izberbash, that is, not far from the area of offshore oil fields and near the border with Azerbaijan. The OCMD in Kaspiysk is armed with coastal anti-ship missiles "Bal", the range of which is 130 km. That is, the missiles can destroy sea targets located in the middle of the Caspian Sea. Our flagship - the patrol missile ship "Tatarstan" - is equipped with anti-ship missiles "Uran", being the most powerful ship in the Caspian.
At the Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky, the Project 21631 missile and artillery ship "Grad Sviyazhsk" ("Buyan-M") is being built for the Caspian Flotilla. A total of five ships are planned for the series, but it is not known whether all of them will go to the Caspian. Since 1994, the Project 11661 missile and artillery ship "Dagestan" has been built in Zeleny Dol and has not been completed; it is the same type as the flagship of the Caspian Fleet "Tatarstan". In addition, the Almaz Plant is building small artillery ships of Project 21630 "Buyan" - "Volgodonsk" and "Makhachkala".
According to military expert Konstantin Sivkov:
"For the United States, the Caspian plays an extremely important role in their geopolitics. Now they are trying to gain a foothold in this region at any cost. It is not only about control over local energy resources. It is beneficial for the States to implement subsequent aggressive plans against China, Russia and Iran. Moreover, the main bet here is on Azerbaijan, with whose political elite the United States has established particularly close ties. By drawing this and other countries in the region into military-technical cooperation, America thereby gains a greater opportunity to influence their policies. If it fully supplies everything necessary for fleets of these countries, it will control their military power. And if someone does not behave as Uncle Sam wants, they will be threatened with a refusal to supply spare parts and ammunition, and, if necessary, electronics will be switched off from satellites. As a result, the military equipment in service in the Caspian countries will become just junk.
… Washington can use the Aliyev regime according to the same scenario it tried out against Moscow in 2008 with Saakashvili, in the Iranian direction. In recent years, relations between Baku and Tehran, to put it mildly, have left much to be desired. Iran fears subversive activities by Azerbaijani special services in Iranian Azerbaijan. The Persians are no less concerned about the ambitions of the Azerbaijanis for the oil and gas wealth of the Caspian. In past years, the Azerbaijani Navy has repeatedly undertaken provocative demonstration actions against Iran.
Therefore, with a certain scenario, the United States may try to use Azerbaijan against the Islamic Republic as they did with Georgia in relation to Russia. However, the further strengthening of Baku’s power at sea cannot help but concern another American partner in the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, which also has disputes with Azerbaijan over control over a number of oil and gas fields. ”
The question arises, why was it necessary to give up Central Asia and the South Caucasus in 1991? Now the Caspian would be, practically, our lake, including the coast of Iran. And Iran could well be our strategic partner. And the US and other Western "players", and even China, which has been increasingly gaining ground in Central Asia in recent years, would be out of business.
The guard ship "Tatarstan" is the flagship of the Caspian flotilla of the Russian Navy.
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