Navy Day and the Black Sea region
Romanian Navy Day was marked on August 15
Ştefan Stoica, 16.08.2018, 12:11
For the first
time, the Romanian Navy Day was this year celebrated in several port cities, as
well as in Bucharest. A grand naval show was held in Constanta, the largest
port on the Romanian Black Seacoast. Attending the show, President Klaus
Iohannis congratulated the sailors and said Romania cannot be a truly important
player in the region without a powerful army, which should include a
well-equipped and well-trained navy, capable of withstanding any challenge. We
are witnessing the buildup of a new geostrategic context, whose evolution is
hard to anticipate, the president went on to say. Klaus Iohannis said that Romania
continues to be a source of stability and a regional provider of security. This
status comes with genuine benefits, Klaus Iohannis said.
It is key that our country should have the capacity and wisdom to use
our strengths in order to consolidate our role within NATO and our status as a
reliable strategic partner of the United States of America.
The president
also argued in favor of strengthening international cooperation, as an
alternative to consolidating global peace and security. Klaus Iohannis believes
that focusing on the economic dimension of international cooperation could
bring real benefits to countries in Southeastern Europe, as well as to other
interested parties. The Black Sea region continues to represent an important
bridge between Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, with the possibility
of capitalizing on the Danube as a natural transit corridor between Central
Europe, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. Without minimizing military
cooperation and the geostrategic security of the region, foreign policy analyst
Stefan Popescu told Radio Romania that our country stands a good chance of
becoming an important regional player. Stefan Popescu:
To have a functional Black Sea policy, we must focus on the port of Constanta,
the largest on the Black Sea. We must focus on our civilian fleet, which is
quite deficient. To become a truly regional player, Romania must develop a
Black Sea policy, which I believe is something we have failed to recognize. A
state is robust not just by means of its military, but through a sound and
powerful society, a robust economy, good exports and a culture that appeals to
the entire region.
At military
level, Defense Minister Mihai Fifor announced, on the sidelines of the events
in Constanta, that the Government next week will vote the go-ahead for the
purchase of the mobile anti-ship missile system, a type of coastal artillery
that will enhance Romania’s naval security.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
