Russia to expand military presence from Arctic to Caribbean MOSCOW, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Russia is preparing to conduct regular air patrols from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. He told military leaders in Moscow it was part of a plan for expansion of Russian military presence. Long-range patrols of this type ended with the conclusion of the Cold War. "In the current situation, we are obliged to ensure our military presence in the western part of the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific Ocean and in the Caribbean Basin and the Gulf of Mexico," the official Tass news agency quoted him as saying. He added additional maintenance efforts for the fleet of aging aircraft, were also ordered. Earlier in 2014, Shoigu said Russia planned military bases in Cuba, Venezuela, Vietnam, the Seychelles and Nicaragua. Shoigu's comments Wednesday came as NATO and others reported an increase in Russian aircraft over Western Europe. The London think tank European Leadership Network cited 40 close encounters between Russian planes and the West this year, including violations of national airspace, in a report released Tuesday. Rulan Pukhov of the Moscow military think tank Center for Analysis of Strategy and Technology, said the Russian efforts are mostly symbolic. He told the Dow Jones Business News Service, "The Russian leadership and political elite feel vulnerable and insecure because of the pressure from the United States and other countries. It's natural that the country would give some kind of an answer when it's being pressured.