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Maritime Operations in Eastern Atlantic and Channel
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13. First, the Eastern Atlantic and Channel.
Recognising the
place of maritime strategy in the overall strategy of the
Alliance,
we plan to continue to devote a substantial part
of our defence effort to this area, where we currently provide
the bulk of the maritime ready forces available to NATO. (PAUSE)
We accept that it is the task of the European navies to preserve
the use of this area for NATO in a period of tension.
We also
appreciate that transatlantic reinforcement from the United
States by sea and air, in a time of rising tension, could make
a powerful contribution both to deterring Soviet aggression and
to increasing Allied confidence, but that US naval forces are
likely to be heavily preoccupied in the Western Atlantic and unable
to deploy eastwards immediately. Moreover, we realise that to
counter Soviet maritime power, particularly the great superiority
in submarines, requires considerable resources of all kinds and
that to abandon any component of the UK's maritime capability
would render NATO's deterrent in the Eastern Atlantic ineffectual.
We have therefore maintained our strength in this area, at the
expense of all our maritime forces in the Mediterranean, and of
some amphibious ships, conventional submarines and afloat support.
There will also have to be major inroads in the new construction
However, we will continue, albeit more slowly in
programme.
some cases, with the construction of the anti-submarine
cruisers sea-control ships as you call them nuclear
submarines, modern destroyers and frigates, and the associated
helicopters.
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SECRET UK EYES A