160319-N-QA919-540 Arctic Circle (March 15, 2016) – Los Angeles-class submarine USS Hartford (SSN-768), surfaces near Ice Camp Sargo during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2016. ICEX 2016 is a five-week exercise designed to research, test, and evaluate operational capabilities in the region. ICEX 2016 allows the U.S. Navy to assess operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance understanding of the Arctic Environment, and develop partnerships and collaborative efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Thompson)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON – PENTAGON – The U.S. Department of Defense is closely monitoring Russian military activities and infrastructure build-ups in the Arctic, the Pentagon said Monday. Russia is building upon military bases in the Arctic and testing new weapons there, CNN reported. Russian military activities and infrastructure build-ups in the Arctic are not going unnoticed, the Pentagon press secretary said.
“[We] obviously recognize that the region is key terrain that’s vital to our own homeland defense and as a potential strategic corridor between the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the homeland — which would make it vulnerable to expanded competition. We’re committed to protecting our U.S. national security interests in the Arctic by upholding a rules-based order in the region, particularly through our network of Arctic allies and partners who share the same deep mutual interests that we do.”
-Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby Apr. 5, 2021
Photo credit: Gary Raynaldo ©Diplomatic Times) Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington DC Apr. 5, 2021
“Obviously we’re watching this, and as I said before, we have national security interests there that we know … we need to protect and defend,” Kirby said. “And as I said, nobody’s interested in seeing the Arctic become militarized.”
U.S. Opens New Diplomatic Outpost in Arctic GREENLAND To Counter Russia, China
Source: .airicelandconnect.com/ New U.S. Consulate is located in Nuuk , the capital of Greenland in the Arctic
Last year, the United States reopened its new diplomatic consulate in Nuuk Greenland as the strategic importance of the High North is attracting the attention of major powers including Russia and China. In 2019, Denmark approved the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark, four months after spurning President Donald Trump’s idea of buying the island which shocked Copenhagen and caused a major diplomatic spat. The U.S. diplomatic mission in Nuuk was previously operating from 1940 to 1953.
On the back of concerns about Russia’s military buildup in the Arctic and China’s push in the region, the State Department in April 2020 announced it would also provide $12.1 million in aid to Greenland.
In the 2019 DOD Arctic Strategy, the Defense Department told Congress it has three objectives in the Arctic. Those objectives include defending the homeland, ensuring common areas remain free and open, and competing when needed to maintain a favorable regional balance of power.
“The Arctic is a potential corridor — between the Indo-Pacific and Europe and the U.S. homeland — for expanded strategic competitions,” the report reads. “Strategic competitors may undertake malign or coercive activities in the Arctic in order to advance their goals for these regions. The DOD must be prepared to protect U.S. national security interests by taking appropriate actions in the Arctic as part of maintaining favorable balances of power in the Indo-Pacific and Europe.”
