Recently, according to media reports, an explosion occurred in the "North Stream" No. 2 natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Europe. Just 16 hours later, the "North Stream" No. 1 natural gas pipeline in the same sea area exploded again. Meanwhile, the Swedish measurement station detected two strong underwater explosions in the waters where the "North Stream" natural gas pipeline leaked. In response, the Prime Minister of Denmark Danish said that the leakage of the "North Stream" natural gas pipeline was not an accident but a man-made deliberate destruction. It is worth noting that when the accident occurred, the US military was holding exercises in nearby waters, and the US Navy helicopters had been flying intensively over the natural gas pipeline. So the question is, the Beixi pipeline was bombed, who was deliberately attacking it? Why do U.S. military aircraft frequently appear at the scene?
Now, due to the complexity of the sea area where the "North Stream" pipeline is located, it has increased the difficulty of investigation in various countries. At this stage, the initiator of the incident cannot be determined. The United States has expressed its views on the destruction of the "North Stream" pipeline and denied all the outside world's allegations about the United States' participation in the incident. So now let’s learn about the relevant information about US military aircraft in this incident. The "Knight Eagle" helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter developed by the United States with excellent general transportation capabilities. The aircraft was first flight in 2000 and officially entered service in 2002. The aircraft is equipped with two flight control computers and two sets of GPS navigation systems. Because the aircraft is equipped with modern navigation and positioning equipment, the "Knight Eagle" helicopter can be dispatched all day and can still perform tasks efficiently under harsh climate conditions. As an carrier-based helicopter, , the aircraft can perform a variety of combat missions, including combat search and rescue, mine-sweeping mission, transportation and supply mission, etc. It is precisely because of its excellent versatility that the "Knight Eagle" helicopter has become one of the most widely used aircraft types among the US Navy helicopters. So the question is, looking at the whole incident, what are the pros and cons of the destruction of the "Beixi" natural gas pipeline? In this regard, I have summarized the following points:
The picture shows the leak site of the "Northern Stream" natural gas pipeline
First of all, in Russia, due to its relatively single economic structure, energy exports have long been an important pillar of Russia's domestic economic development. The proportion of energy export revenue has reached more than 50% of its GDP . Among them, natural gas, as one of the important export energy sources, has always been the most important energy trade between Russia and European countries. As an example, Russia's total natural gas exports to Europe account for 81% of its global exports. Although with the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, European countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and Russia is forced to respond by interrupting natural gas transmission. Russia's inseparable energy trade with Europe has become the only bridge for communication between the two sides at this stage, and natural gas trade will definitely recover with the end of the conflict. However, now the "North Stream" pipeline has been destroyed. While Russia has lost an important source of economic resources, it has also lost an important means to restrain European countries. What's more serious is that Russia and European countries have the opportunity to re-place the negotiation table on the Russian-Ukrainian issue, and with the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline, it has become a bubble. Therefore, for Russia, the destruction of the "North Stream" pipeline is harmful and has no benefit.
Secondly, in Europe, European countries have a very high dependence on Russia's natural gas. Before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Europe's annual natural gas imports from Russia accounted for 40% of its total natural gas imports. The "North Stream" natural gas transmission pipeline is the most important transportation channel for European countries to trade natural gas with Russia. To a large extent, the operation of the "North Stream" natural gas pipeline is related to the energy security of the entire European continent. Affected by the previous cut off of Russian natural gas supply, the energy crisis in European countries has gradually begun to cause social problems, and winter is coming, and energy problems in European countries will inevitably intensify further. Easing tensions with Russia and negotiating energy issues has become the top priority for Europe.However, with the destruction of the "North Stream" pipeline, Europe's last hope for effectively solving the energy crisis is shattered. In the future, there will be more than a cold winter, but also more severe social problems to welcome European countries, so European countries are undoubtedly the biggest victims of this incident.
Finally, for the United States, the damage to the "North Stream" pipeline has not had a direct adverse impact on the United States, but the indirect impact still exists. Since many related industries in the United States are closely connected to EU , EU countries will be deeply troubled by the energy crisis throughout the winter. If the EU's energy problem cannot be effectively solved, it will affect the relevant industrial chains of the United States to a certain extent. Then, European countries will likely be unable to take care of themselves and will not be able to continue to help the United States complete the relevant strategies to check and balance Russia. However, the United States is the only party that can benefit from this "North Stream" pipeline incident. The destruction of the "North Stream" pipeline means that the only communication channel between Russia and Europe has been completely destroyed. European countries will no longer be subject to Russia, and can also follow the United States on the issue of Russia and further put pressure on Russia in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, the United States can gain a lot of benefits from European countries in "energy anxiety" through energy exports and capital harvesting. In this way, the damage to the "North Stream" pipeline is more about profiting than loss for the United States. Interestingly, US President Biden once publicly stated, "If Russia starts war with Ukraine, then "North Stream" No. 2 will no longer exist."
The picture shows "North Stream" natural gas pipeline
To sum up, at this stage, the cause of the "North Stream" natural gas pipeline accident is still under investigation. Because the location of the pipeline greatly increases the difficulty of obtaining evidence, this also means that the truth of the facts will not be made public in a short period of time. But what is certain is that this incident cannot be just an accident, because it involves the interests of multiple parties and other factors. The truth buried behind the incident will likely fall into the sea and become a unsolved case forever.
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