Britain is deploying troops, aircraft and armor in the
biggest military buildup in Eastern Europe since the Cold
War.
The deployment, which was first floated in the press by UK
defense chiefs on Wednesday, appears to have been prepared well in
advance.
It will see up to 800 armored infantry troops deployed to
Estonia and Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets deployed to Romania
in what appears to be a reiteration of the strategy of containment
employed against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
France and Denmark will also commit more troops.
On Wednesday, UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon struck a
belligerent tone in the Wall Street Journal when he warned that
Europe "is our continent" and, as such, would be defended.
While he claimed the force would be "defensive in nature" he
pledged it would be "fully combat-capable."
He denied the placement of small formations around the Baltic
area are merely a "trip-wire" in case of the much-heralded, but
hypothetical, clash with Russia.
"This is a serious military presence," he said.
Tensions have only just begun to subside after a fleet of
Russian naval vessels bound for the Mediterranean Sea passed
through the North Sea and English Channel.
The passage caused a press frenzy in the UK, framed as though
Russia was launching an invasion of the British Isles. The Royal
Navy deployed destroyers to, in Fallon’s words, "man-mark" the
vessels while the RAF overflew the ships with fighter jets.
According to the Russian military, the naval group’s task was to
"ensure a naval presence in operationally significant areas of the
world’s oceans," as well as "the safety of maritime navigation and
other maritime economic activities" of Russia.
Britain’s deployment of troops, drones and aircraft is expected
to begin in May 2018.