Are there any landlocked countries in the world that have a navy?

Most people always think that only countries close to the sea have navies. In fact, at least 8 landlocked countries in the world also have organized naval forces. Their navies are called inland river navies.

Mongolia in Asia has the smallest "navy" in the world. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan established their navies to protect the oil resources of the Caspian Sea; Paraguay in South America is said to have the strongest navy among landlocked countries. With more than 40 ships of various types, Bolivia was once a coastal country, and now its fleet has moved inland to Lake Titicaca and inland rivers; among the eight landlocked countries in Europe, three have built navies, and they are : Hungary, Switzerland and Austria.

The Mongolian Navy has only 7 people

Mongolia is the second largest landlocked country in the world. This country, which is thousands of kilometers away from the nearest sea, has the smallest navy in the world. .

Mongolia formed this navy in order to transport oil by ship through Lake Khuvsgul. Later, because Lake Khuvsgul was a famous tourist destination in Mongolia, in order to protect the environment, Mongolia stopped transporting oil by oil tankers. This navy, which is known as "three ships, two guns, and one engine" and is said to have only 7 people, currently has only one tugboat named Sukhbaatar still in use.

The "Sukhbaatar" is an old Russian tugboat. It is anchored on Lake Khuvsgul, which is 2,000 kilometers away from the nearest sea. These Mongolian sailors do not have any military tasks in peacetime. Their main job is to transport wool and leather produced in Mongolia to Russia on the other side for trading. The "captain" has never even seen the sea.

Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan built navies to protect their interests

Kazakhstan has not had a naval establishment for a long time. The defense of the Caspian Sea region is mainly responsible for more than 4,000 maritime guards. They are always* **There are more than a dozen small ships manufactured in the Soviet Union and transferred from foreign countries, and their performance has long been seriously lagging behind. As the importance of the Caspian Sea's oil resources continues to emerge, the country has begun to attach importance to developing its navy. In 2007, the Kazakhstan military publicly stated that it would establish a capable maritime combat force in the Caspian Sea region to protect its oil and gas resources.

On February 18, 2010, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kazakhstan Armed Forces and President Nazarbayev awarded the military flag to the Navy, and the reorganization of the Kazakhstan Navy was completed. At present, the Kazakhstan Navy consists of the Caspian Sea Fleet, the Coast Artillery Force and the Marine Corps. The main military port is located in Aktau, a city on the Caspian Sea coast.

The background for Turkmenistan’s establishment of a navy is exactly the same as that of Kazakhstan, which needs to safeguard its own interests in the Caspian Sea. After the end of the Cold War, the Caspian Sea was surrounded by five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran, of which Turkmenistan has the weakest maritime power. Today, the Turkmen Navy has 16 patrol boats, 2,000 soldiers and a joint coast guard and navy base.

Turkish President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov first signed a decree on the establishment of a navy in August 2009, hoping to form a decent navy and establish it in the Port of Turkmenbash on the Caspian Sea by 2015. Deploy the navy.

The maritime plot of a landlocked country in South America

Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America. Part of its borders with Brazil and Argentina are divided along rivers. The troops patrolling the border rivers are called For the Navy. According to data, Paraguay has nearly 3,000 naval officers and more than 40 ships of various types, making it a powerful inland navy.

Bolivia, which is also a landlocked country, has a deep maritime connection. It not only has a naval force of more than 3,600 people and a Marine Corps of 500 people, but also has its own unique "Navy Day". On every "Navy Day", Bolivia holds a grand military parade. Some small warships will be decorated, loaded onto trailers, formed into a procession, and passed through the square in La Paz, the capital, amid flowers and colorful flags, to be reviewed by national leaders and people. On the streets of Bolivian cities, slogans saying “Bolivians demand access to the sea” can be seen everywhere.

After independence from the Spanish colony, Bolivia once had more than 400 miles of coast along the Pacific Ocean in its southern part, which was rich in natural resources such as saltpeter and guano.

It was this rich natural resource that eventually triggered the war between Bolivia and Peru and Chile from 1879 to 1883. This cruel war ended in the defeat of Bolivia and Peru. According to the armistice agreement, Bolivia and Peru must cede large coastal nitrate mining areas to Chile as war compensation. As a result, Bolivia lost the province of Antofagasta on its southern coast, turning itself from a coastal country into a landlocked country today. The original naval fleet had to move inland to Lake Titicaca and inland rivers.

European landlocked countries also have navies

Austria and Hungary have the Danube, an international river, passing through them, and they each have inland river navies.

Due to Austria's strict neutrality and budget constraints, the Austrian river fleet after World War II was very small, only possessing some equipment of the Army Engineering Corps. In 1968, a patrol boat squadron was established, with the miniature 40-foot patrol boat "Oberst Brecht" (A601) and an old self-propelled barge nicknamed "the flatbed". Later, an armed patrol boat was built. "Niederosterreich" number. In addition, there are several German-built "M-boot 80" motor boats. Hungary's naval vessels are mainly composed of a certain number of mine warfare vessels, which are responsible for inland river patrol missions.

In comparison, Switzerland's navy is a symbol that this country has a full range of three-dimensional military power. In addition, Czechoslovakia, the predecessor of the two countries, also had a navy, and there is a joke related to it that is widely circulated on the Internet. (Sun Ruibo)

Mongolia formed this navy (actually a small merchant fleet) in order to transport oil by ship through Lake Khuvsgul. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, because Lake Kusugul is a famous tourist resort in Mongolia and has no pollution, in order to protect the environment, the activity of transporting oil by oil ships was stopped. This ship was known as "three ships, two guns, and one engine". "The Navy has only one armed tugboat named Sukhbaatar still in use.