Nikos Dendias: New doctrine for the Aegean with “smart” weapons and unmanned systems

“We will protect the Aegean much better than we have done so far, but we will do it in a much more complex way,” the minister stressed.

The conference, entitled “Maritime Security in an Era of Geopolitical, Geoeconomic and Technological Disruption”, is organised by the Council for International Relations, the International Propeller Club (Port of Piraeus), S4GEO (The Society for Geopolitics) and the Institute of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the School of Shipping and Industry of the University of Piraeus and the Institute of International Relations (IDIS) of Panteion University.

Dendias also said, among other things, in his speech: “I understand, and of course it is completely expected, that the Conference has focused mainly on what is happening in Hormuz, which is indeed a huge challenge for maritime security, for the global economy. But first let us see exactly where we are. If we look at it from the Greek perspective, in terms of the new realities. And I am referring to the northern route, the northern maritime corridor, which is changing a lot, but also to the security challenges that we will face in the coming years. I will not go further into this issue, but please keep it in mind. And I must say that there are courageous and far-sighted Greek seafarers who are already using the Northern Corridor. But this Northern Corridor changes the security architecture that we have to provide. The security of the seas. The Black Sea is used, but we cannot call it safe. I am sure you have spoken at length about the Strait of Hormuz. I will not go into the Strait of Hormuz specifically, but it is not, of course, the only bottleneck. Baba Al-Mandar is a few hundred miles to the east, and every year the Houthis tell us they will close it again.”

He then noted, “And finally, perhaps we should be grateful that the Strait of Malacca remains open, because its very existence has challenged the very essence of freedom of navigation. We never thought, I don’t think anyone, except the war analysts in Iran, would have thought that the day would come when the Strait of Hormuz would be closed completely. As if that were not enough, the challenges we face in the modern marine environment are not just on the surface. They extend beneath it, to critical undersea energy and communications infrastructure. And we need to protect these as well.”

Referring to the choices that Greece has to make, he noted that “in this environment, we, Greece, have to make choices. We are not looking beyond our own boot. Of course, we are the country that has the largest merchant fleet in the world, that relies on open lines of communication, and this does not only affect numbers or statistics. I always point out the impact on the daily lives of Greeks and European citizens.”

“Inflation is killing the economy and it is particularly affecting the poorest among us.So freedom of navigation is not an abstract concept, it is not something that concerns only international law experts, lawyers, shipowners or naval officers. It concerns all of us, each and every one of us. So for Greece, these are the international challenges, and I must tell you that I am not forgetting a challenge that is closer to us, closer to home, because we still have a neighbour that interprets the International Law of the Sea in a rather peculiar way,” he added.

Dendias said regarding Turkey. That the islands, regardless of their size, Crete, for example, are not part of the Exclusive Economic Zones, that the Aegean islands are on the Asian continental shelf. These allegations are presented seriously in international forums, although I must tell you that if a first-year university student taking a course in international law, for example, were to write something like this, he would either fail his exams miserably or his fellow students would laugh until they were in tears. But, again, we have to address this kind of position in serious forums around the world.”

“Now, what do we do?” he added. “First, on legal issues, Greece has always proclaimed that UNCLOS, the International Convention on the Law of the Sea, is ‘holy gospel’ for us and should be ‘holy gospel’ for the whole world. For me, it should be ‘holy gospel’ for all the states of the world. Regardless of whether or not they have signed UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as most countries in the world have done, there are countries that fully accept UNDRIP even though they have not signed it, such as the United States of America. The truth of course is that the US has signed the treaty, but it has not been ratified by Congress. However, this is at the legal level. We need to be more practical. We are going through a radical restructuring so that we are able to face the challenges.”

Agenda 2030 and the Greek Armed Forces, Dendias noted, among other things: “We are changing everything, except our values. We are changing the way the Greek Navy operates. We are changing the means of the Greek Navy. Let me give you an example. As you may know, we are procuring four frigates from Groupe Navale, French frigates, the FDI, Frégates d’Intervention. These frigates are not just a more modern variant of the MEKO class or other frigates we already have. They are a different kind of ship. It is something different. And why is that? Because these four frigates belong to a class that, let me tell you, is not the kind of frigate that the French Navy uses. The French use Standard 2 frigates. We will use Standard 2+++. Just 3 days ago I had the opportunity to explain to President Macron the changes we have made, and he was quite impressed. And I believe that the French will upgrade their FDIs to the +++ category. The “+++” class is capable of carrying 32 strategic missiles, as opposed to the 12 anti-aircraft missiles of the French frigates. And this will be the capacity of the new Bergamini class frigates, which we are going to supply from Italy. Frigates 10 years old, big ships, even bigger than the FDIs, over 6,000 tons, capable of operating on the high seas. I repeat, frigates capable of carrying strategic missiles. And this will be our deterrent, but also our ability to participate in operations that ensure freedom at sea.”

About Operation ASPIDES, he stressed, inter alia: “This operation has a Greek name, because Greece argued from the beginning that the European Union should have an operation to protect the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. And it is not an honour for the European Union that the countries consistently involved in the operation are Greece, Italy and, at times, the Netherlands and Germany. Greece is not and should not become “Turk-centric”. Turkey is not and should not be our main problem. We just need to be capable enough to prevent any threat from our neighbour.”

Dendias also noted. We have improved NATO’s Maritime Deterrence Training Centre, which is training the best personnel to operate in the maritime environment, the best special forces the world has ever seen, to be able to protect our interests in the maritime environment. And as its name suggests, it is not just for Greece, but for the whole of NATO. So NATO’s best are coming to train with us. As part of the 2030 Agenda, we have launched an initiative that we call the Achilles Shield. Why do I call it Achilles’ Shield? Because it is the second shield of Achilles, the Greek hero, as we remember from the Trojan War. The 5 layers of the Shield of Achilles symbolize the sea, the earth, the air, but also cyberspace and space. Until 24 months ago, we had no real capability in these two layers. That’s why we are working hard on both.