MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new state policy strategy for his navy that views the U.S. as aspiring to dominate the world’s oceans in a threat to Russia.
The strategy, in effect as of Thursday—the day Putin signed it—sheds more light into where Russia’s fleet sees potential for international friction and conflict. Among the direct naval threats for Russia falls "the striving of a series of governments, above all the United States of America and its allies to dominate the oceans, including in the Arctic and also to reach an intimidating supremacy with its naval forces.”
The strategy outline, binding until 2030, adds to previous statements from Russian navy officials who have designated the Arctic a priority development area for Moscow. The Arctic and the globe’s resource-rich northernmost are the subject of claims by Russia and four other countries, all of whom are U.S. allies.
In the 22-page navy document, intended as the policy foundation for future Russian military activities, the Kremlin’s ambitious self-image is clear. "The Russian Federation continues to retain its status as a great naval state, whose naval potential ensures the defensive of its national interests in any part of the World Ocean,” the paper declares.
The document says that other countries are trying to "limit Russia’s access to resources at sea and its access to vitally important naval transport communications,” a copy of Putin’s decree on Russia’s official legal documents database said.
The picture painted by the new strategy is one of a wider conspiracy to "reduce the effectiveness” of Russia’s navy through "economic, political, legal and military pressure on Russia.”
Meanwhile the world is in for a rough ride by 2030, the document warns, predicting "an unstable military-political environment, characterized by the increase of global competition, rivalry in the world power centers” due both to the rise of extremism and international power plays.
Russia’s navy is "one of the most effective tools of strategic (nuclear and non-nuclear) containment, including in preventing a global strike,” Putin’s decree said.

China-Russia Naval Drills

Chinese warships joined the Russian navy in the Baltic Sea on Friday ahead of war games which are being watched closely by Western powers.
The drills, which are a sign of both the growing reach of the Chinese military and closer strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing, kick off a busy summer of drills by Russia in eastern Europe which have raised alarm in Washington.
China’s most advanced guided-missile destroyers were expected to arrive in the Russian enclave of Kalingrad on Friday before taking to the seas with a Russian flotilla on Monday for exercises that will run until July 31.
The Type 052D destroyer, Changsha, missile frigate Yuncheng and supply ship Luoma Lake are taking part in the drills.
The Changsha was described as China’s "most advanced guided-missile destroyer” by Chinese media, while the Yuncheng is also believed to be among the most capable frigates in the People Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s arsenal.
"By sending its most advanced guided-missile destroyers, China is expressing its sincerity to Russia and also sends a strong signal to other countries who plan to provoke us," Li Jie, a Beijing-based navy expert, told the state-run Global Times.
The exercise will run the course of a week, and will feature anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship drills. The two sides will also practice anti-piracy as well as search and rescue operations. The joint flotilla is under the command of Russian Vice Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov and Chinese Vice-Admiral Tian Zhong.
China has been expanding its military reach by building up its naval forces and establishing its first overseas military base in the tiny east African nation of Djibouti this year.
The maneuvers in the Baltic Sea are being seen by Chinese experts as a show of force following joint drills by the United States and Beijing's two key Asian rivals - India and Japan – in the Indian Ocean earlier this month.
Observers also say they are directed at NATO, and underscore China’s aspirations to be a major blue sea power and a rival to U.S. naval might.
A statement from the United States European command said: "We are closely tracking Russian exercises with other participants, like China.”
The drills mark the first occasion that Chinese warships have ever carried out maneuvers in the strategically important Baltic Sea, and come after recent maneuvers in the Mediterranean.
Wei Dongxu, a Beijing based military expert, said that Britain would feel a loss of prestige over the Chinese drills, given its history as a maritime power.
"If you look back 30 years ago, there was no way that Britain could have imagined China could dispatch such advanced warships to carry out these activities,” he told The Telegraph.
"I expect China will have overwhelming advantage over Britain on naval strength.”
Some NATO allies believe the Russian exercise could number more than 100,000 troops and involve nuclear weapons training, the biggest such exercise since 2013.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who heads U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Reuters that allies are also concerned that the maneuvers could be a "Trojan horse”, in which Russia would leave equipment behind.