LONDON - Britain's top naval officer on Friday outlined the kingdom's new
naval doctrine that emphasizes "the enduring versatility".

In a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS),
Royal Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope called versatility,
mobility, and interoperability "the hallmarks of maritime forces".

"Together, these hallmarks provide a strength of maritime power that can
deliver -- arguably with considerable efficiency -- political and military
leverage of events ashore," he said.

"Because of their mobility, naval units can easily be positioned and
repositioned around the world, poised in international waters, at high readiness
to react to changing and uncertain situations," he added.

Stanhope said that trade routes is one of the key reasons for Britain to
retain a navy, and that Britain was a net importer of energy and food, and was
reliant on keeping trade routes open to continue functioning.

Therefore, the interruption of trade flows or a "short to medium term
disruption to international supplies of resources essential to Britain is a
significant priority risk."

The speech came a few months after Britain's intervention in the civil war in
Libya, and a year and a half after the British coalition government recast the
roles and operational capabilities of all three British armed forces in a
Strategic Security and Defense Review (SDSR).

The October 2010 SDSR outlined a path for the air force, navy, and army to
take to 2020, and was highly controversial. The role of the navy was at the
heart of this controversy.

In contrast to Prime Minister David Cameron's big spending cuts in other
government agencies, which are as high as 30 percent, the defense budgetary
reduction was modest at 8 percent.

Even though, the British navy lost three medium-sized aircraft carriers and
the fixed-wing aircraft to fly off them, with one of the carriers being
converted into a helicopter carrier. The fleet of surface ships was also reduced
from 23 to 19.

This has left the navy with no carriers until 2020, when the first of two
large carriers is completed. These carriers were also the center of controversy
in the SDSR, as the government balks at the hefty costs to build, equip, and
operate the carriers.

As a result, Stanhope said plans now were for the first carrier to be put
into operational use, but the second carrier would not be equipped to the same
standard.

The budget cuts mean the navy will rely more on its closest allies, France
and the United States, he said, for help in almost all of its future
operations.