US military build-up in the Black Sea again, for what?

USS James E. Williams entering the Black Sea on Nov. 26, 2017. Photo byYörük Işık‏ used with permission.
Guided-Missile Destroyer USS James E. Williams Enters the Black Sea
By: Ben Werner
November 27, 2017 1:08 PM
USS James E. Williams (DDG-95) was spotted transiting the Bosporus Strait over the weekend, heading into the Black Sea.
While heading to the Black Sea, photos of the guided missile destroyer were tweeted Sunday by amateur ship spotters in Istanbul. The ship is expected to make a port call to Odessa, Ukraine, a Navy spokesperson told USNI News ... for more, go to https://news.usni.org/2017/11/27/guided-missile-destroyer-uss-james-e-williams-enters-black-sea 

US military build-up in the Black Sea again, for what?

KUALA LUMPUR (January 2018): Just what is the war-waging US up to now in the Black Sea?

It is reported that the American guided-missile destroyer USS Carney has docked in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, claiming it to be part of a mission to reassure allies in the face of what Washington calls a “Russian threat”.

Why can’t the US just mind their own business? Does the US really believe that it can take on the Russia-China combo? If not, then, what are they up to?

Don't the US have better things to do, like reducing its US$20 trillion debt?

It is a suspicious military build-up by the US and its allies.

I Love Malaysia-China Silk Road reproduces three Black Sea-related reports on the heightened military activities. Form your own judgment on what the US is really up to; to stabilise or destabilise the region:

"HomeWorld News

US Navy destroyer arrives in Black Sea on ‘familiar mission’

Published time: 9 Jan, 2018 18:57

US Navy destroyer USS Carney sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 5, 2018. © Yoruk Isik / Reuters

American guided-missile destroyer USS Carney has docked in the Ukrainian port of Odessa. It has sailed to the Black Sea as part of a mission to reassure allies in the face of what Washington calls a “Russian threat.”

“Returning to the Black Sea and Odessa is a familiar mission,” said Peter Halvorsen, USS Carney commanding officer, according the US 6th Fleet website. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer last visited the area in June to participate in the Sea Breeze 2017 international exercises. Back then Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, was one of the guests aboard the vessel.
 


Naval Forces Europe✔@USNavyEurope

#USSCarney pulling into Odessa, Ukraine Jan. 8. Routine visit shows shared commitment to promote security & stability in region, while also enhancing interoperability w/ partners in #BlackSea #PartnerStrong #SteadyPresence

8:12 PM - Jan 9, 2018

According to the US Navy, Carney’s return to Ukraine “demonstrates a shared commitment to promote security and stability within the region, while seeking opportunities to enhance interoperability with partners in the Black Sea.” The arrival of the warship came as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which saw an intensification of drills and an increase in the number of NATO troops near Russian borders in response to Moscow’s reunion with Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of conflict in Eastern Ukraine.



Naval Forces Europe✔@USNavyEurope


#USSCarney fires Mark 45 5-in gun & Phalanx close-in weapons system (nicknamed #R2D2) during live-fire exercise in Black Sea while conducting routine maritime security ops in support of @NATO allies & partners & U.S. national security interests in Europe #ReadyForces #WeAreNATO

9:38 PM - Jan 8, 2018

Last year, US Navy destroyers carried out missions in Black Sea waters on an almost bimonthly basis. After Carney’s arrival in July, USS Porter patrolled the area in August, followed by USS Porter in November. The American ships are denied a permanent presence in the region by an international treaty, which allows only temporary and limited deployment in the area for nations with no access to the Black Sea.

Captain Tate Westbrook, who oversees the ships in the Naples-based 6th Fleet theater, told the Stars and Stripes website that “US ships will continue to enter the Black Sea and work with our allies and partners to ensure maritime security and stability.”

Russia has repeatedly criticized the presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea as well as the buildup of the US-led bloc’s forces near its borders, saying that it only increases tensions and puts Europe at risk of a military conflict.

The missions of Carney and other US and NATO vessels in the Black Sea are aimed at “putting Russia out of temper,” said Franz Klintsevich, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Committee for Defense and Security, according to Tass. “But why does the US need all this? It’s almost impossible to make Russian-American relations worse,” he added.

At the same time, Klintsevich stressed that “the arrival of the US navy destroyer to Odessa poses no threat for Russia.”The Senator assured that “the situation is under control” and any incidents will be avoided.

HomeWorld News
Aegis destroyer USS Carney enters Black Sea to replace US 6th Fleet flagship

Published time: 25 Oct, 2016 15:19

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney © Murad Sezer / Reuters

The guided missile destroyer USS Carney is visiting the Romanian port of Constanta, just after the Sixth Fleet’s flagship, the USS Mount Whitney, left the Black Sea.

The American Arleigh Burke-class destroyer sailed to Romania, a Black Sea NATO member, from its forward deployment base of Rota, Spain, where it finished scheduled maintenance last Tuesday. It entered the Black Sea on Monday, a day after the USS Mount Whitney had left the area.

“It’s great to be back in the Black Sea. It’s been 20 years since my last visit to the Black Sea and I’m looking forward to strengthening relations and interoperability with our friends and allies in the area and promoting maritime security and stability in the region,” said USS Carney’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Ken Pickard.

It’s the first deployment of the Aegis-equipped destroyer to the Black Sea since it joined the US Sixth Fleet.

NATO allies decided to increase their presence in the Black Sea during a summit in Warsaw in July. The alliance claims this is in response to Russia’s increasing military capabilities and is a gesture of support to member states in Eastern Europe.

However, the US’ ability to deploy warships to the Black Sea is hampered by an international treaty, which allows only temporary and limited deployment for nations which have no direct access to the area. The possible creation of a NATO Black Sea flotilla comprised of ships owned by the region’s allies is currently under discussion.

HomeWorld News
British, Turkish warships arrive in Ukraine for NATO Black Sea drills (PHOTOS)

Published time: 24 Jul, 2017 13:08

© Defence Ministry of Ukraine

A British missile destroyer and a Turkish frigate have docked at the port of Odessa in Ukraine for a joint NATO maritime exercise, which comes just a week after the bloc’s massive Sea Breeze war games took place off the same shore.

The Royal Navy’s ‘HMS Duncan’ and the Turkish Navy frigate ‘Yildirim’ moored in the Black Sea port of Odessa on Monday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry wrote on its website. Both ships, which belong to NATO Standing Maritime Group 2 (NSMG2) covering the Mediterranean, are expected to remain in Ukrainian waters until July 27.

“The program of the ships’ visit includes a joint exercise with the Ukrainian Navy to train mid-sea survival skills as well as surveillance operations,” the press release said.

It added the British and Turkish warships will then participate in separate naval drills, a so-called ‘passing exercise’ (PASSEX), involving Ukrainian vessels. Usually, PASSEX-type exercises are conducted to ensure that vessels from different navies are able to communicate with one another in wartime or during humanitarian operations.

‘HMS Duncan’ is the sixth and last of the Type 45 air-defense destroyers commissioned for the Royal Navy.

The billion-pound destroyers were meant to revolutionize naval warfare with greater anti-aircraft and anti-missile clout, becoming a backbone of the Royal Navy in the next decades.

The Turkish Navy’s ‘Yildirim’ is a Yavuz-class frigate designed in Germany. Also a part of NSMG2, it is armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles as well as air defense weapons systems.

The two NATO vessels arrived in Odessa just several days after the US, Ukraine and 14 other nations deployed warships, combat aircraft and special operations teams for the ‘Sea Breeze 2017’ exercise off the Ukrainian coast.

Notably, the US Navy sent its Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser ‘USS Hue City’ and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer ‘USS Carney,’ along with a P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, the Sixth Fleet said in a press release.

Moscow has long objected to NATO’s large-scale war games near Russia’s borders, which intensified after the March 2014 referendum in which Crimea opted to reunite with mainland Russia.

In the meantime, a top US commander alleged that the Russia-Belarus drills Zapad 2017, planned for September, could be a “Trojan horse” for Europe.

“People are worried, this is a Trojan horse. They say, ‘We’re just doing an exercise,’ and then all of a sudden they’ve moved all these people and capabilities somewhere,” Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of US Army forces in Europe, told Reuters.

Minsk and Moscow refuted the allegations, pointing at NATO’s ongoing buildup in Eastern Europe. Last Wednesday, Russian Envoy to NATO Aleksandr Grushko said that “propaganda stories” on Zapad 2017 are caused by the NATO military buildup on the eastern flank.

In turn, Belarusian Defense Minister Andrey Ravkov stressed that Zapad 2017 is far smaller than certain NATO war games in Eastern Europe, including the Anaconda 2016 exercise in Poland which involved over 30,000 troops and hundreds of armored vehicles.

“While Anaconda 2016 has not caused hysteria among us, we were receptive to the past exercise,” despite the fact that it had an “obvious hostile nature,” Ravkov told TASS. He added that international organizations, including the UN, NATO, and the OSCE, as well as more than 80 foreign observers, are invited to the Zapad drills as there is “nothing to conceal.”"

Gunboat Diplomacy: US Tomahawk-Capable Destroyer Spotted in Black Sea (PHOTOS)

12:48 06.01.2018 (updated 13:05 06.01.2018)

The USS Carney Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer entered the body of water on Friday, according to the US 6th Fleet's official website. Bosporus naval observers published photos of the destroyer's entry into the Black Sea Friday evening, along with screengrabs of the vessel's transit through the Bosporus. According to the US Navy, the ship is ostensibly entering the region "to conduct maritime security operations" and "enhance regional maritime stability," and to strengthen the naval capabilities and readiness of NATO and its partners … for more, go to https://sputniknews.com/military/201801061060552297-uss-carney-black-sea-deployment/