F I R S T S E A L O

James Rogers and Viktorija Starych-Samuolienė Co-founders of the Council on Geostrategy 05 Steel and statecraft: Mobilising naval power in a competitive age The turmoil in the Black Sea, the damaging of telecommunications cables to the Shetland Islands, the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, the contestation of Arctic territories and resources, and the militarisation of the South China Sea. [...] By informing the strategic thinking of the United Kingdom and its allies and partners, the conference intends to contribute to the art of admiralty and facilitate understanding of the importance of maritime power in an increasingly volatile era. [...] Previously, he has been stationed in The Hague as Director in the Policy Department of the Ministry of Defence as Commodore and has been the Head of Strategy and Advice for the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy. [...] It will focus on the maritime activities of the People’s Republic of China, Russia and Iran, before asking how naval power can be used to actively deter aggressors from establishing their own spheres of influence and challenging the sea lanes, whether in the South and East China seas, the Black and Baltic seas, or the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf. [...] The Ford class of supercarriers, the Zumwalt class of destroyers, the Littoral Combat Ship programme, totems of an imagined fleet of the future from the dominant position of the early 1990s, all struggle to deliver the requisite capabilities for a more contested maritime present.