Russian patrol boat starts mission off Abkhazia coast

en.rian.ru...

MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - The first Russian patrol boat has arrived in Abkhazia to protect the maritime borders of the former Georgian republic which has been recognized by Russia as an independent state, the Vesti television reported.

The Novorossiysk vessel is part of a Russian coastal guard division which will be based at the Abkhazian port of Ochamchira. The division is expected to have up to 10 Sobol class and Mangust class patrol boats.

Georgia seized the Panama-flagged Buket tanker and its cargo of gasoline and diesel fuel for Abkhazia last month as it sailed from Turkey to the tiny republic on the Black Sea.

Tbilisi considers Abkhazia and its waters part of Georgian territory, and has declared any unauthorized maritime shipments of goods to be illegal.

In response, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba said in early September that Abkhazia was ready to resort to force as President Sergei Bagapsh had given the order "to open fire on Georgian ships if they continue their acts of piracy."

Russia recognized Abkhazia and another former Georgian republic of South Ossetia last August after a five-day war with Georgia over the latter, which was attacked by Tbilisi in an attempt to bring it back under central control.

Under mutual assistance treaties signed last November, Russia pledged to help Abkhazia and South Ossetia protect their borders, and the signatories granted each other the right to set up military bases in their respective territories.

Russia's Defense Ministry has said it plans to open a base in Gudauta, in the west of Abkhazia, and staff it with at least 1,500 personnel by the end of this year.

This is the most recent development in the build-up of tensions between Georgia and Russia.

Georgia claims Abkhazia is their territory, and that any ships unauthorised by Tblisi can and will be stopped under international law.

The Russian's claim Abkhazia to be an independent state, and that Georgia are engaging in acts of piracy by stopping shipping vessels on route to Abkhazia.

Russia says it will prevent the Georgians from stopping these cargo ships in future. Georgia basically replies by saying get lost to Russia and they'll continue the economic blockade. Russia now sends 10 patrol boats, presumably with the rest of the Russian black sea fleet nearby.

The 7th round of discussions recently broke down, and both sides seem intent on carrying out what they have said they will do in the media. For either side to back down would be a PR disaster, but not to would be a disaster of massive proportions.


[edit on 21-9-2009 by john124]

Russia ups marine patrols off coast of Georgia's breakaway republic

Moscow - Russia intends to significantly upgrade marine patrols off the coast of the breakaway region of Abkhazia in Georgia, the Russian news agency Interfax reported Sunday. The dispute over the status of Abkhazia and the other breakaway republic of South Ossetia led to war last summer between Russia and Georgia.

To monitor the coastline, 10 modern patrol boats would be utilized, the Russian intelligence agency FSB announced, according to Interfax.

Georgia claims both territories, but Moscow has recognized their bids for autonomy.

According to media reports, several units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet will be stationed in the Abkhazian town of Ochamchira.

Around 1,000 Abhkazian security forces will monitor the 350- kilometre land and sea border between the breakaway republic and Georgia, according to the Russian Border Guard.

The authorities in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, have seized merchant vessels on their way to supply Abkhazia, as they try to enforce an economic blockade.

[edit on 21-9-2009 by john124]

Naval Security Deficit Growing in the Black Sea

On September 15 Russia officially warned that it would intercept and detain Georgian coastal guard boats in the Black Sea, if these attempt to interfere with ships that trade with Abkhazia, or if the Georgian boats otherwise trespass Abkhazia's "maritime border" into "Abkhaz waters."

The warning accompanies the deployment of Russian coastal guard units to Abkhazia (EDM, September 16).

Under international law, however, trading with the unrecognized Abkhazia is illegal and there is no such thing as Abkhaz borders or territorial waters. Russia's warning and the construction of its coastal guard base in Abkhazia amount to changing the maritime border de facto through the use of force (since August 2008) and enforcing that change by threats of using force again.

This move is a maritime equivalent of Moscow's methods on land in the South Caucasus: shifting land borders de facto through military action, implanting Russian military bases there, arming local proxies to help enforce this dispensation, and co-sponsoring smuggling and trafficking as part of the "controlled instability" paradigm. Those processes characterized the "frozen conflicts" from the 1990's to date, which rendered international law inapplicable in large parts of the South Caucasus.

Moscow is now extending those methods from the South Caucasus land mass, westward into the Black Sea. This move creates the potential for maritime incidents and unlawful trafficking in the Black Sea. By occupying Abkhazia under the excuse of "recognizing" it, Russia has gained 215 kilometers of Black Sea coastline. The lawless (in terms of international law) environment of the frozen-conflict areas may well spread into the Black Sea, unless this process is checked through timely international actions.

Georgia has declared the Abkhaz port of Sukhumi closed to all ships. Sailing there is unlawful, except in individual cases with Georgian consent. Under international law, Georgia reserves the right to impound the offending ship and its cargo and to put them up for auction.

In recent months, Georgia's modest coastal guard (decimated during the 2008 war while at anchor) intercepted several ships that were engaged in the unlawful trade with Abkhazia. Most of these ships originated in Turkey. In the latest incident, the Georgians detained a Turkish ship and crew in mid-August and impounded its cargo of petroleum products bound for Abkhazia. The incident was resolved with Turkey in early September through diplomatic channels, Russia, however, turned the incident into an opportunity to demonstrate its power to overrule international law in a large part of the Black Sea.

Moscow and the Abkhaz authorities characterize such Georgian actions as "piracy." On September 2, Abkhaz "president" Sergei Bagapsh ordered Abkhaz gunboats to attack and destroy Georgian coastal guard boats if these attempt to stop third-party ships (most likely to be Turkish). Bagapsh said, "These actions will be exclusively Abkhaz actions. No Russian forces are needed for this and they will not be asked to do this" (Interfax, September 2).

Less than two weeks later, Russia threatened to intervene in such incidents, albeit not to destroy, but to detain Georgian coastal guard vessels. Bagapsh's warning, however, raises the possibility that the Abkhaz could shoot while Russia disclaims responsibility for its controlled proxy's actions. Such incidents have been standard procedure in the frozen conflicts on land, and the pattern is potentially repeatable at sea.

The Abkhaz have a few armed coastal boats of their own, sufficient to challenge Georgia's modest coastal guard. This possibility, along with the Russian coastal guard's deployment, can deter Georgian attempts to curb the illegal maritime trade. The Abkhaz "black hole" for smuggling and trafficking, long a problem on land where Russian troops were present, could now affect a large portion of the Black Sea under the Russian coastal guard's watch.

With Russia and the Abkhaz deeming Georgia's lawful actions as "piracy," Moscow can potentially use the relevant item in President Dmitry Medvedev's latest doctrine on military intervention abroad. On September 9, the Russian Duma approved in the first reading Medvedev' proposals to amend Russia's Law on Defense. The amendments authorize Russia's president unilaterally to order quick military action beyond Russia's borders in a variety of situations. These include "fighting piracy and ensuring the safety of maritime shipping" (Interfax, September 9).

Russian naval action in the Georgia-Abkhazia theater would, in fact, qualify as ensuring the safety of smuggling, if third-party shipping bound for Abkhazia is involved. On September 15 in Tbilisi, the ministry of foreign affairs invited the resident ambassadors to express its concerns in this regard.

Russia begins patrolling Abkhazian waters

The first Russian patrol boat has arrived in the Republic of Abkhazia to protect the sea borders of the young state which declared independence from Georgia last summer following Tbilisi's attack on South Ossetia.

It was recognized by Moscow in 2008.

The Novorossiysk is the first of a flotilla of ten vessels to be based at the Black Sea port of Ochamchira.

Russia’s Federal Security Service also announced that a base for Black Sea Fleet ships is to be established in Abkhazia, while illegal trespassers from neighbouring Georgia would be detained by Russian border guards.

“Our task is to safeguard the territorial waters of Abkhazia according to the treaty between Sukhum and Moscow. If we find that the republic is under threat, we'll act under international maritime law and UN conventions. We are not here to scare or fight anybody but to ensure law and order along Abkhazian borders,” said Novorossiysk ship captain Faik Mamedov.

Vyacheslav Chirikba, a foreign policy adviser to the Abkhazian President, says the decision to send patrol boats to the republic is a lawful response to Georgian actions.

“Following Georgia’s capturing of peaceful cargo ships en route to Abkhazia in international waters, Russia felt compelled to protect Abkhazia from aggressive Georgian action,” Chirikba explained.