HMS Defender’s Provocations Against Russia Shows “Global Britain” as “Global Escalator”

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Paul Antonopoulos, independent geopolitical analyst

Wild news broke out yesterday that Russia fired warning shots against Britain’s HMS Defender. More alarming, it was also reported that a Russian plane dropped bombs in the path of the British warship as it sailed 19 kilometers off the Crimean coast. London massively escalated its relations with Moscow in the Black Sea despite HMS Defender being some 3,000 kilometers away from the UK (as the bird flies).

BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale filed a report from the deck of HMS Defender in the Black Sea and described hostile warnings over the radio as the warship’s crew prepared for a possible confrontation with Russia. Beale said he saw more than 20 aircraft overhead and two Russian coastguard boats, which at times were just 100 meters away from HMS Defender.

This is at odds with claims made by the British Prime Minister’s office and the Defence Ministry. They denied that such an incident took place, suggesting that London is trying to sweep the confrontation under the rug. A source told BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale that the HMS Defender was not there to create tensions but to assert its right to freedom of navigation in supposed international waters.

Presumably, this is what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his reactionary government meant by a so-called “Global Britain” following Brexit. Under the narrative of Global Britain, London wants to position itself as one of the leading global powers. As part of achieving this vision, Britain increased its defense spending and is attempting to convince the Joe Biden administration that London is Washington’s most important European ally.

In its efforts to prove to Washington that it is a loyal ally, the British parliament imposed a ban on the installation of Huawei 5G infrastructure from September 2021 onward. Following the failed uprising in Britain’s former colony of Hong Kong in 2019-2020, London offered visas to Hong Kong residents with the prospect for a clear pathway to British citizenship. With an eye on the Biden administration, London wants to show toughness against China to position itself as the most important European partner to the U.S.

However, efforts to become a major global power is not only reduced to increased military spending and pressure against China, but also against Russia – so-much-so that Britain now sends warships into the Black Sea, violates Russian sovereignty, and then continues to blame Moscow for escalations.

This fact was highlighted in a tweet by the Russian Embassy in the UK: “HMS Defender turns HMS Provocateur and violates Russian border. Not exactly a ‘routine’ transit, is it?” Russia’s defence ministry also said that the “dangerous actions” by HMS Defender in the Black Sea were a “gross violation” of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and called for an investigation. In fact, Moscow was so outraged by this clear violation of sovereignty that the British ambassador was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and met with officials on Wednesday afternoon.

It is likely because Britain knowingly violated Russian sovereignty but did not expect such a strong and immediate reaction that it is now trying to downplay the incident or the fact that they escalated tensions. A UK government spokesperson insisted that Russia was doing “gunnery exercises” in the Black Sea despite Moscow itself acknowledging its own actions, contrary to British claims. UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace added: “As is routine, Russian vessels shadowed [the ship's] passage and she was made aware of training exercises in her wider vicinity.”

Defence sources told the BBC that they were not surprised by Russia’s response. On the one hand, the UK government is officially denying that Russia made strong actions to demonstrate their willingness to defend their sovereignty, whilst on the other hand defence sources speaking to state-funded BBC acknowledge that such an incident took place.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov condemned the UK’s actions and said: “What can we do? We can appeal to common sense, demand respect for international law. If this does not help, we can bomb not only on their path, but also on the target [ship],” adding that HMS Defender should be renamed “HMS Aggressor.”

It is recalled that a 116-page report, titled “Global Britain in a Competitive Age,” claims that “Russia will remain the most acute direct threat to the UK.”

“Russia is the most acute threat in the region and we will work with NATO Allies to ensure a united Western response, combining military, intelligence and diplomatic efforts,” the report added. The report also pledged to work within NATO to “deter nuclear, conventional and hybrid threats to our security, particularly from Russia.”

Yet, despite stressing the so-called Russian threat, it was HMS Defender from the Carrier Strike Force, spearheaded by the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, that broke off from its mission in the Mediterranean earlier this month to sail to the Black Sea and violate Russia’s waters. As part of the UK’s new “forward-leaning” foreign and defence policy outlined as a part of a new “Global Britain,” the strike force will soon be heading to the South China Sea where it will undoubtedly continue its provocations, this time against Beijing.

The end of World War II saw the beginning of the de-colonization process that saw Britain’s global status be reduced, especially since the dominance of the U.S. and the Soviet Union defined most of the 20th century. In the Age of 21st Century Multipolarity, London is attempting to re-establish its status as a global superpower, however, this will be a near impossible endeavour.

One of “Global Britain’s” first actions was to violate Russian sovereignty in the Black Sea on Wednesday. However, the reaction from Russia was so strong and immediate that it came to the point of embarrassment for the British government that they are now desperately attempting to downplay the event. This suggests that Britain is far-off from achieving superpower status and had to be humbled by Russia on Wednesday to come to this realization.

A “Global Britain” seems nothing more than a “Global Escalator”.

Source: InfoBrics