Russians!… At it again! For the umpteenth time since the illegal invasion of Ukraine began, the Russian Navy entered Portugal’s Atlantic territorial waters on the 16th of August. Unsolicited as always. Unceremoniously as always. Arrogant as always! More to the point, a Steregushchiy-Class warship is sailing just off the Portuguese Atlantic Coast, up and down reportedly mapping out seafloor infrastructure relevant not just to Portugal, but as a NATO founding member, obviously also relevant to the West at large and to NATO specifically. We have yet to know precisely what the latest Russian incursion is about. Still, recent efforts to investigate Russian Navy’s activities in Western waters, by the Danish authorities have shown Russia is mapping out data cables, pipes, telecommunications and Internet links, all of which lie on the seafloor and are relevant for European shared infrastructure as well as structural installations linking the United States and Canada to Europe.
It had been a long and complicated day and had taken him quite some time rallying the regiments stationed at the Royal Arsenal, waiting to board the warships to take them to North Carolina, where the colonials had been arguing their case against the Authority of the Crown in the American colonies.Â
Russian spying on Western infrastructure sparked concern in Portugal before. In March 2023, Fleet Admiral Gouveia e Melo made it plainly clear that a previous incursion of a Russian Navy vessel was caught tracing and measuring intercontinental cables infrastructure, running on the seafloor along the coast of Madeira Island. On that occasion, it was the Akademik Tryoshnikov.
The Russian threat, Fleet Admiral Gouveia e Melo said, must not be underestimated. It must raise our concerns over Western security, given the nature of Russian activities in Western waters.
Portugal is always a target in terms of adversary interest, because of the strategic triangle it offers right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, linking the Continental Mainland, Madeira & Porto Santo, and the Azores. This territorial triangle establishes one of the World’s largest territorial waters areas. Historically its importance has been time-tested, when the area supported the Allies’ efforts to successfully execute D-DAY plans and the subsequent invasion of Normandy on the 6th of June 1944.
It had been a long and complicated day and had taken him quite some time rallying the regiments stationed at the Royal Arsenal, waiting to board the warships to take them to North Carolina, where the colonials had been arguing their case against the Authority of the Crown in the American colonies.Â
More recently, another Russian ship, the Kildin, was caught sailing along the Portuguese mainland coastline. The Kildin is of particular concern because it is an Intelligence-harvesting vessel, but as has been the case with all Russian maritime incursions, all the Portuguese Naval authorities can do is escort the ships, keeping them under close surveillance.
It had been a long and complicated day and had taken him quite some time rallying the regiments stationed at the Royal Arsenal, waiting to board the warships to take them to North Carolina, where the colonials had been arguing their case against the Authority of the Crown in the American colonies.Â
Currently, Portugal has two ships Рthe NRP Figueira da Foz and the NRP Drag̣o Рkeeping an eye on Russian vessels, thus fulfilling its obligations under NATO membership, as a founding member since 1949. However the current situation, in effect war in Europe albeit by proxy, poses operational demands on the Portuguese Navy, which needs to expand considerably if it is to patrol Portuguese territorial waters, currently in the Top 20 World largest.
It had been a long and complicated day and had taken him quite some time rallying the regiments stationed at the Royal Arsenal, waiting to board the warships to take them to North Carolina, where the colonials had been arguing their case against the Authority of the Crown in the American colonies.Â