If Russian spies are in UK waters, we have to respond

There have been strong words from Defence Secretary John Healey after a British submarine had to warn off a Russian spy ship in UK waters. His message for Russia was: “We know what you are doing.

- KEIR GILES

And we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”

It’s the “robust action” part that’s important. In the run-up to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western leaders also told Vladimir Putin that they knew what he was doing. But without the threat of consequences for doing it that were meaningful for the Kremlin, there was no reason for him not to go ahead and do it.

Now, Healey’s claimed change to “rules of engagement” is a clear warning to Russia. Whether it will be heeded is another question. Turkey, for instance, clearly explained its rules of engagement to Russia in 2015 in response to repeated airspace violations by Russian military aircraft operating in Syria. Russia chose to disregard those warnings until Turkey shot down one of those aircraft, after which Russia chose to treat Turkish warnings with greater respect.

With the real picture hidden deep in murky waters (or equally deeply classified), it’s impossible to know from the outside just what the Yantar spy ship has been detected doing to the UK’s sub-sea infrastructure: reconnaissance, probing for vulnerabilities, or simply a demonstrative presence designed to test Britain’s response.

It’s not a new issue. After years of increasing concern over how much damage Russia could do to the economies of this country and others through targeting subsea cables, this week the UK’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy launched an inquiry into the UK’s ability to defend its undersea infrastructure.