My Lords, we continue to convene efforts towards restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which is of vital importance to the UK. The Prime Minister will deliver an Oral Statement this afternoon following his trip to the region and will update on our latest work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Royal Navy has a long history of mine-hunting expertise and has existing capabilities in the region. It is also stepping up its mine-hunting capabilities by adding new, cutting-edge, uncrewed equipment to RFA “Lyme Bay”, allowing it to be used as the mothership for autonomous systems if required. On 7 April, the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters convened a meeting with 30 nations to discuss freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz; and our military planning continues.
My Lords, I agree entirely with my noble friend the Minister that we must not let this war end with the Strait of Hormuz, a very important international waterway, being closed. It is in global interests and in our interest that this does not happen. We are very good at mine-hunting. Our—very badly funded at the moment—Navy is actually an expert at mine-hunting, which is very important. The Minister is probably aware that the bulk of the deepwater routes into and out of the Gulf actually go through Omani, not Iranian, waters. We are very close friends and allies with Oman. Can we not go ahead with talking to the Omanis and asking whether they would be happy for us to start making sure that the routes within their waters are clear? This is a step forward in the right direction, in which we can start moving, using the mine-hunting forces that my noble friend the Minister has mentioned.
I thank my noble friend for his question. He will know that the Government’s approach is to try to ensure that we bring together a co-ordinated, independent and multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends. Of course, considerations will be with all our different allies and friends within the region. This morning it was announced that we will co-host a summit with the French to work on that co-ordinated plan. No doubt, some of the points that my noble friend has made will be considered at that summit, as well as at a further meeting at PJHQ in the next few days.
My Lords, when President Trump triggered the war in the Middle East, the sole naval response by the UK, to protect significant British interests in the region, was to belatedly order a Type 45 destroyer, in maintenance in Portsmouth, to be made sea-ready. It departed on 10 March and reached Cyprus approximately two weeks later, then to go into dock some days later for short-term maintenance to repair the onboard water supply system. That has been our naval response. The Minister will agree that this is as extraordinary as it is embarrassing. Although the new frigates in the Clyde and the Forth, ordered by the last Conservative Government, will be an important augmentation to the Royal Navy, I ask the Minister: is HMS “Dragon” back in deployment, what other naval assets are currently sea-ready, what are the Government doing to accelerate sea-readiness of the remaining naval assets, and is the elusive—indeed, now evanescent—defence investment plan not now pointless, completely overtaken by events?
The noble Baroness will know my answer with respect to the defence investment plan. As I have said, it will be published in due course. HMS “Dragon” is available in the eastern Mediterranean and, as she says, is currently undergoing some limited work—but is still available with respect to its air defence weapons.
I pay tribute to the last Government for the 13 ships being built in Scotland and their importance. With respect to what the Government are doing with the mine-hunting capabilities in the region, in the Answer I gave my noble friend Lord West, I spoke about the autonomous mine-hunting capabilities that are already deployed there. The noble Baroness will know, because she is well aware of these things, that the hybrid Navy that the First Sea Lord wants will ensure that we not only have ships but that the mine-hunting capabilities of the future will involve much more the use of drones. That was why I made the point about RFA “Lyme Bay” being made a mothership from which drones can be used to tackle a mine threat, although no decision has been made to deploy that yet. That is also a way forward. Of course, ships are important, but there are many other ways mines can be tackled as well.
My Lords, the Minister said how important it was to open up the Strait of Hormuz. If the United States is threatening a second blockade of the strait, surely that is going to make the situation much worse. What conversations are His Majesty’s Government having to try to ensure that our closest ally is not actually exacerbating the problem?
We always talk to the United States and continue to do so. The noble Baroness will know from the answers that have been given that we do not support the blockade, as proposed by the United States, and we are seeking other ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This is why I have talked about the summit we will co-host with the French in the next few days, and why I have talked about the nations that will be invited to PJHQ to find a way that is internationally supported and co-ordinated and has the support of all regional allies, so that at the end of hostilities, we can reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a way that is sustainable and which will deliver the result we all want. Of course, we continue to talk to the United States. I make no apology for saying that the United States, whatever the current situation, remains a crucial ally of this country and in the development, peace and security of the world as we go forward.
Can the Minister give us some reaction from the Government to the legality, under international law, of the action being taken by Iran to impede passage through the strait? It does not belong half to Iran and half to the Omanis; it is a strait with international waters. Can he say what action will be taken and how this affects our own involvement in future?
The noble Lord’s fundamental point is a good one. That is why the Government have consistently said that they will act in accordance with international law—and we call on all states to act in accordance with international law. I know that sometimes people find this frustrating, but what moral status would we have, when calling other nations to respect and to co-operate according to international law, if we ourselves do not respect it? This is the point that we are making: we will always act in accordance with international law, and we expect all other countries to do the same, not only in the Strait of Hormuz but anywhere in the world.
Does the Minister, for whom I have a great deal of time, agree with me that this is a very dire situation? I am not necessarily laying any blame at this Government’s door, but it is an awful situation where we do not have a single ship in the Middle East and we do not have any ships to send there. We are actually a rather sad Navy.
The noble Lord has made his point about the Navy and the words he used will have been heard by everyone. The point that I am making in response is that, as we move forward, the question will be about not only the number of ships but the types of capabilities that we have to deal with the threats that we face.The Navy of the future will not be the Navy of today or of the past. That is why the conversion of RFA “Lyme Bay”—although I stress again that no decision has been taken to deploy it—in order for it to operate as a mothership for drones flying above, on or beneath the water, is a significant development. The noble Lord will see that the Navy of the future will include not only ships, submarines and other similar vessels but these types of developments—that is an important point that we all ought to grasp.
I commend my noble friend the Minister for his restraint in not pointing out to the Benches opposite that the lack of a surface fleet—and indeed of underwater vessels—is a result of a series of decisions taken not to invest in building, which has also had an impact on our shipyards. We are now making a recovery, but that cannot happen overnight.
The truth of the matter is that we of course need more ships, and investment is going into that now to produce the ships that we need. We are currently trying to maximise the use of the capabilities we have available to us to ensure that we deal with the problems and challenges we face—not only in the Middle East but across the world, as we recently saw in the North Sea and the High North. It is important, as we wait for these new ships to be delivered and the investment to go in, to ensure that we have the capabilities we need to deal with the threats we face.
I think I have heard the Minister remind us from the Dispatch Box that the pipelines bypassing the Strait of Hormuz are working and carrying, apparently, 7 million or 8 million barrels a day—I had thought it was 4 million barrels a day. Will he and his colleagues, when they have general discussions, keep that in perspective? When you add that to the fact that 70% of the oil going through the Strait of Hormuz will not be stopped because it is either Iranian or comes from Iran’s friends—and when you add the release of more Russian oil and the increase of shale oil—we are back roughly where we started. While it is infuriating to have the rule of law on the seas threatened by Iranian bandits—which is what they are—and while it is a very serious defence point, it is not as dramatic an oil point as some people seem to be making out.