By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
While NATO has not stated it officially, the Alliance’s largest military exercise since the Cold War currently being conducted in Norway is to send a message to Russia. NATO’s Operation Trident Juncture 18 kicked off last week with 50,000 participants from 31 Allies and partner countries readying for the Alliance’s most important military exercise since the end of the Cold War. NATO is showing the world the military alliance is ready to respond to any threat from any direction, particularly Russia, by conducting the largest exercises in decades. The exercise was launched in Norway on 25 October and will run through November 7. Although NATO contends the military exercise is not directed at any particular, potential foe, many speculate the scenario is a show of force aimed at Russia to put Moscow on notice. Some also suggest the exercise is intended to emphasize NATO’s relevancy, especially in light of U.S. President Trump’s pointed attacks on the alliance. Trump has characterized NATO as irrelevant,and called on the alliance to spend more on defense.
In a press conference with Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said:
“We train to send a clear message to our own nations, and to anyone who might want to challenge us: NATO is ready and NATO is able to protect all Allies against any threat.” The Secretary General also stressed the defensive and transparent nature of Trident Juncture. He noted that all members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have been invited to send observers,saying: “NATO Allies respect the letter and the spirit of our international commitments.”NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Russsia-NATO Tensions Boiling Over After Moscow’s Invasion of Crimea
Tensions between NATO and Moscow have been rising ever since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in March 2014. NATO beefed up its military footing in the Black Sea and Baltic states after Moscow’s activity in Crimea. Strengthening a military deterrence in the East has been a top priority for NATO. Retired Admiral James Stavridis writes in Time.com:
“The exercises fall on the heels of a far larger Russian wargame (albeit on its eastern border), with over 300,000 troops — six times larger than NATO’s current war game. Russia has also been conducting a series of offensively structure exercises around its periphery over the past six years. They have recently been operating warships and aircraft very aggressively, often penetrating Alliance airspace and confronting NATO warships at sea. All of this has rattled the NATO nations in the east, especially the vulnerable Baltics, and Trident Juncture is seen as a response to Russian military posturing.”Retired Admiral James Stavridis.
