ABSTRACT
The Soviet Union looks upon the naval balance as the primary area in which the West enjoys superiority. The anti-submarine forces of the West are directed against the naval component of the Soviet strategic potential. The Soviet Union does not strive to achieve complete parity between its navy and the US by way of limiting naval armaments. To a considerable degree this is due to a different assessment by the East and the West, primarily the USSR and the US, of the role and importance of sea power in modern times and to their positions on the question of extending the disarmament process to naval forces. The Soviet Union’s view is different in this respect and based on the need to maintain both a complex, systematic approach to the disarmament process and a stable military equilibrium; this is the fulcrum of military and political stability and, in the end, of international security.
