René Balletta

May 21, 2024 | rusi.org | René Balletta

René Balletta9 Minute ReadDespite the occasional political turbulence and asymmetry in national interests, history would support that the values underpinning the Entente Cordiale – signed 120 years ago this year – have in fact existed for over eight hundred years, and will likely endure long into the future.

Dec 19, 2023 | rusi.org | René Balletta

René Balletta5 Minute ReadA recent spate of incidents in the South China Sea involving the US, China and the Philippines points to the risks of escalation, even if a larger-scale conflict is unlikely in the short term. On 4 December, the world woke to renewed Chinese accusations that the US was stoking tensions in the South China Sea, after US warship Gabrielle Gifford allegedly ‘infringed’ on China’s claimed waters off Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Isles.

Dec 8, 2023 | rusi.org | René Balletta |Sidharth Kaushal |Dan Marks

A more dramatic escalation that would likely have deeper and more widespread consequences would be an attack on one of the major pipelines carrying gas from Norway to mainland Europe or the UK. Such an attack would be significantly more challenging than an attack on the Baltic Pipe because of the potential requirement for the use of bespoke capabilities owned and operated by the GUGI, which Western navies likely pay a considerable degree of attention to.