Two combatant craft assault boats are launched from the well deck of amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha during Operation Polar Dagger in 2023. (Joshua Samoluk/U.S. Navy)
The United States and its allies in the Arctic need to increase the number of sensors, patrols and intelligence sharing in the region to contain the expansion of Russian and Chinese forces in the far north, defense leaders said at the meeting this week.
“We are seeing more and more activity where Russia and China are working together, and the Arctic is the most recent area,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Brown, who is also chairman of the Arctic Chiefs of Defense, said a secure Arctic where international laws are upheld would require the support of NATO allies that have territory within the Arctic Circle. The defense group, which met in Keflavik, Iceland, includes top military leaders from Canada, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
A Pentagon statement on the meetings pointed to climate change as a significant factor in the increasing strategic importance of the northern polar seas.
“Competition in the Arctic has grown exponentially in recent decades, due in part to the thawing of once ice-choked sea lanes brought on by a warming climate, further opening avenues of approach,” the Pentagon said.
Russia and China have increased military and commercial shipping forays through the northern oceans, which have become more navigable in recent years.
Russia and China have held joint exercises this year in the Bering Sea, which is reached through a 53-mile-wide strait that separates eastern Russia from western Alaska.
While Russia has long operated in the Arctic along its northern border, China has only become active in the region in recent years. It declared itself a “near-Arctic” state and joined Russia in naval exercises recently as this month.
The warmer waters also make finding and accessing energy and mineral deposits more practical. Changes in fish migration because of climate “create potential for dispute,” the Pentagon said. “China, while not an Arctic nation, has increasingly sought to extend its influence in the region in its long-term planning and to take advantage of regional resources.”
The Pentagon released its long-range 2024 Arctic Strategy in July. The meeting in Iceland was the first time the leaders could discuss the American plan and key roles the partner nations would play.
“The U.S. has long recognized the Arctic as a linchpin to homeland defense,” the Pentagon said. “During the Cold War, the Arctic served as an avenue of approach for Soviet bombers and missiles in the event of an attack on the U.S.”
In response to these challenges, the strategy calls for more integration of military resources. The American armed forces, including the Coast Guard, need to operate in an increasingly joint capacity. Allies’ warships, aircraft and troops should be folded into the mix.
The report said many of the countries within the Arctic Circle have expertise in navigating and fighting in freezing, dark conditions of the far north.
The plan calls for more regional multinational exercises to offset the joint Russian-Chinese operations.
Brown held separate talks with Sweden and Norway, as well as the group meeting.
The Pentagon said Brown summed up the meetings as showing the U.S. remains focused on “malign activities,” China’s “growing influence” and the threat of “increasing cooperation between the two countries.”
