The British Empire is longing to restore its historical domination of the world’s oceans by the containment of both Russia and China. But with a combat fleet of 45 warships, including 26 small patrol vessels, that is an ambition hard to even imagine.

First Sea Lord Gen. Gwyn Jenkins, the chief of the Royal Navy, delivered a speech at the Admiralty House in London Sept. 16 in which he declared that the United Kingdom must strengthen naval readiness to keep the Atlantic open and protect the sea lanes, undersea cables and energy infrastructure vital to the country, reported Defense News.

Jenkins argued that the Atlantic remains central to U.K. security and to NATO’s ability to reinforce Europe. He said a “whole-nation effort” is required to defend the sea. “We must know what is happening in the Atlantic, protect what matters, keep open the sea lanes, and convince any adversary that the cost of coercion or aggression would outweigh any possible gain,” Jenkins said, according to a transcript of the speech. “If we are to prevail in the Atlantic again, we must strengthen our warfighting readiness and rediscover what it means to be a maritime nation.”