A look at the Defence news 16 - 22 June
The Dutch and Belgian navies intend to work together more closely in the maritime domain.
Netherlands Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans and his Belgian counterpart Theo Francken signed an agreement to this end on board the Royal Netherlands Navy's combat support ship HNLMS Den Helder last week.
HNLMS Van Amstel escorts Russian ship on North Sea
Last week, multipurpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel escorted a Russian ship on the North Sea. It was not the first time this year that an action of this kind was carried out. Even though an internationally agreed right of passage applies in the Dutch exclusive economic zone, Dutch navy ships always escort Russian and Chinese ships. This is done to deter them from carrying out acts of sabotage and espionage.
Strong NATO presence during exercise in Baltic Sea
How to respond to threats at and from the sea? How do you strengthen cooperation with your allies? And how do you collectively deter the enemy? Navies from various nations had to focus on these tasks in the two-week Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) in the Baltic Sea, which ended last Friday. HNLMS Snellius took part as the flagship of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1. The Royal Netherlands Navy's Defence Diving Group also took part in the exercise, as part of a total of 9,000 military personnel, 40 ships and 25 aircraft from 17 countries.