MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Naval Command could propose a plan, if the leadership requests, to deploy warships in the Pacific and Indian oceans on a permanent basis, Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov said on Sunday.
"The Russian Navy once had squadrons stationed in the Indian and Pacific oceans. If needed, we will propose a plan to the Defense Ministry, government and president, to deploy warships in the Indian and Pacific oceans on a permanent basis," he said in an interview with Zvezda television.
The head of the Federation Council's Defense and Security Committee, Viktor Ozerov, earlier backed the idea of restoring permanent Russian naval forces in strategically important regions, earlier reports said.
"We support the Russian leaders' strategy for reestablishing Russia's naval presence in the oceans. We want to reopen our former naval base in Vietnam and we are prepared to expand our presence in other seas and oceans," Ozerov told the military attaches accredited in Moscow on March 14.