National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos announced today, Wednesday, the opening of the 1st Naval Conference, which is organized by the Naval General Staff and hosted by the Eugenides Foundation.

Welcoming remarks were delivered by Mr. Konstantinos Katsafados, Deputy Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, responsible for ship affairs, Chief of the Air Force, General Konstantinos Floros, Chief of the General Staff, Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis P.N., Chief L.S.- EL.ACT. Vice Admiral L.S. George Alexandrakis.

Members of Parliament, representatives of the Armed Forces, retired officers and former ministers, as well as representatives of the merchant shipping authorities were in attendance.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,

I certainly do not feel that I am in a position to particularly enlighten this select and specialized public about naval power, but you will allow me to say a few words and, of course, to express my joy at the fact that I am here today in the territory of the military – navy. Eugenide Foundation with the possibility of organizing the 1st Maritime Conference.

So, there was US Navy officer Alfred Thayer Mahan, father of the US Naval Academy, geostrategist and historian, and, of course, a sailor, a sailor himself, who said that “naval power is the military power of the state.” against the sea, which is expressed through its navy”, and world history has proven that maritime power is the key to sovereignty, whether on a global, regional or local level.

The British Empire, Spain, the Netherlands and the US are, of course, typical examples. “Run Britain, control the waves,” that is, Britain ruled the waves, the poet wrote in the 18th century, during the heyday of Britain’s sea power, and pay attention to the words. He did not say that he had power over the territory, or over imperial possessions, or colonies, etc. Great Britain had power over the waves, Thomson wrote at the time, and of course, according to this reasoning, maritime power absolutely implies geopolitical power.

I think the most extreme example of projecting geopolitical power through naval power today is an aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier is not identified as a platform on which a power such as China can conduct exercises or operations of an aeronautical nature. It is mainly defined as a means of force projection, an aircraft carrier is called “force projection”. Of course, countries that have it are considered capable of projecting power into the wider geopolitical environment through aircraft carriers.

Of course, we have our own aircraft carriers in Greece. They are of course static, but also unsinkable, and in this way they can project our own inner power at least into the wider marine environment, the Aegean of course, but also more broadly into the Eastern Mediterranean. And of course, the great naval battles of History, ladies and gentlemen, you well know, were events that marked the further course of things at the level of power relations, either with the strengthening of a great power (the one that won – won the great naval battle), or with a retreat ( and certainly at the geopolitical level) of another, the one who was defeated.

Salamis marked the end of Persian subterfuge in antiquity, and perhaps the beginning of Athenian dominance of the sea.

Nafpaktos ended the Ottoman ambition to dominate the entire Mediterranean.

Navarino marked the end of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet’s invasion of Greece and the beginning of the conditions for declaring the independence of the Greek state when the revolution ran into difficulties. We know this well.

Later, during World War II, Midway put an end to Japan’s quest for dominance in the Pacific, and the course has since reversed in favor of the great maritime and Pacific superpower, the United States. This naval battle, in fact, tipped the scales in favor of one power and against another. Thus, naval power means absolutely and directly the projection of geopolitical power.

For the Greeks, of course, naval power is also a key component of our history and maritime art, engraved in our DNA from the campaign, in fact, the Trojan War naval campaign in the 12th century BC. century before the appearance and actions of the Navy in two world wars. The leaders have certainly mentioned all this throughout our history from classical times to the world wars.

I would especially like to note the sovereignty of the navy, its decisive contribution to the strengthening of sovereignty in the Aegean Sea and the territorial expansion of the country. My hometown, Kavala, was liberated by a very clever trick of the fleet, by a sense of the naval power of the enemy. They lit fires on many boats, of course, after the invention and strategy of naval officers who were openly active in the time of Kavala, there in the northern part of the Aegean. The Bulgarians thought that a large naval force was in front of them and that they were going to land in the morning hours, they fled without firing a shot, and only a handful of naval officers and sailors were to enter the city and relieve Kavala without firing. . Because the enemy believed that the naval power of Greece was decisive and there was no need to resist.

Today, the daily struggle against Turkish provocations in the Aegean once again underlines the importance of naval power and the deterrent ability of the armed forces as a whole. At the Ministry of National Defense, aware of the developments and instability in the international geopolitical arena, as well as the security challenges in our wider region and especially in the Southeast Mediterranean, we are working intensively on a variety of strengthening, development and modernization. navy. You know them.

I believe that the Greek navy is currently moving at a rapid pace, “with unstoppable momentum” if you will, into a new era and is playing a leading role in increasing the naval power of Greece, both with the acquisition of FDI frigates and other facilities, new ones such as as well as the mentioned MH-60 ROMEO Anti-Submarine Warfare Helicopter, the imminent selection (we are very close to this moment) of new corvettes and much more to meet the operational requirements of the Navy. Of course, among others, I also include the modernization of four MEKO-class frigates.

And, of course, they are already expanding based on the planning that we have done in the Ministry, based on the recommendations with the plan of the Commander-in-Chief, the recommendations of the Chiefs of the General Staff and the naval infrastructure in the country, both at the level of the Navy (Court) and more broadly (Alexandroupolis ). , so that the entire maritime territory has a modernized infrastructure, which directly implies the strengthening of the country’s strategic, geopolitical presence in the wider region.

Finally, special mention should be made of Greek merchant shipping. This makes Greece a maritime superpower at the level of international maritime trade. The merchant fleet owned by Greece remains the first in the world and is a powerful factor that strengthens foreign policy and enhances the role of Greece in the international environment. It is also a lever for projecting soft power, of course, but also soft power, you know very well that this is national power.

So our centuries-old naval history testifies to the decisive contribution of sea power to the historical development of the Greeks. Therefore, it is the duty of all of us to contribute in some way to the preservation and increase of this force.

In conclusion, let me express my warmest congratulations to all the participants who created this initiative. The positions of the distinguished speakers and the analysis of individual issues will certainly highlight the importance of naval power as a factor in national power, but naval power is also a valuable part of our collective consciousness – let me believe it – the soul of Greece. I look forward to fruitful outcomes of the conference. I am sure that it will be a complete success and should become an institution from now on.

Congratulations to all, and after the joy, let me take this step to announce the opening of the 1st Marine Energy Conference. Thank you for your attention”.