Whether the United States and the West are engaged in a new “Cold War” with Russia remains a matter of debate, but tensions are certainly the highest between the two camps at any time since the end of the Cold War that resulted in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
What is notable now is that Moscow doesn’t maintain any significant presence in Eastern Europe, apart from the exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea – while every former member of the Warsaw Pact, with the obvious exception of Russia, is now a member of NATO. Instead of a strong military build-up in Europe, with eyes westward, Moscow has turned its focus northward to the Arctic.
Russia has established more military bases in the region, including the reopening of Soviet-era military installations, while eight of its 11 submarines capable of launching long-range nuclear weapons are in the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet. Even more ominously for the West, Moscow has been partnering with China – a nation that has no actual territory in the Arctic, yet, has defined itself as a “Near-Arctic State,” with a larger interest that draws its attention to the region.
Global warming continues to impact the Arctic, including the Northeast Passage, which is on track to become one of the most efficient shipping routes between Europe and Asia by 2050.
Eight nations have a presence in the Arctic including Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the United States, and Russia. All of those nations – except Russia – are now members of NATO.
A New DoD Arctic Strategy
As the likelihood of conflict in the not-so-frozen north is heating up as quickly as the planet, the United States Department of Defense has released its 2024 Arctic Strategy, which acknowledges the environmental changes that are impacting the region, and how the U.S. military needs to meet future challenges.
“Climate change is rapidly reshaping the Arctic, which is warming more than three times faster than the rest of the world. The changes in the environment not only impact Arctic communities’ way of life, but also DoD’s operating context,” the 2024 Arctic Strategy noted.
“The Arctic region of the United States is critical to the defense of our homeland, the protection of U.S. national sovereignty and the preservation of our defense treaty commitments,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said on Monday during a briefing at the Pentagon. “Our Arctic strategy will guide the department’s efforts to ensure that the Arctic remains a secure and stable region.”
Hicks added that climate change is “fundamentally altering the Arctic,” as well as the regional geopolitics and U.S. defense missions. As a result, the United States must now rethink how to prevent conflict in the region, but also how to protect the warfighters who might be charged with defending America’s interests.
Much of the focus is in response to Russia’s military buildup.
“Russia continues to pose an acute threat to security and stability in the region,” Hicks said. “Russia has continued to build up its military infrastructure in the Arctic and assert excessive claims over Arctic waters.”
More Than a Russian Threat
Yet, even as great emphasis is placed on Moscow’s military buildup in the Arctic, the Pentagon has also acknowledged that Beijing is expanding its military presence, including its ability to conduct operations with the Russian Navy. China also maintains three icebreakers in the Arctic waters.
“While not an Arctic state, the PRC seeks greater influence in the region, greater access to the region, and a greater say in its governance,” Hicks said. “That’s concerning given that it’s the only strategic competitor with the will and increasingly the wherewithal to remake the international order.”
That increased cooperation between Beijing and Moscow is being met with alarm.
“We’ve seen growing cooperation between the PRC and Russia in the Arctic, commercially, with the PRC being a major funder of Russian energy exploitation in the Arctic, and increasingly militarily, with Russia and China conducting joint exercises off the coast of Alaska,” Hicks said. “All of these challenges have been amplified because the effects of climate change are rapidly warming temperatures and thinning ice coverage, and it’s enabling all of this activity.”
The DoD’s Arctic Strategy
The Pentagon has called for enhancing its Joint Force’s Arctic capabilities and domain awareness, increasing its partnerships with allies in the region; and exercising a tailored presence that includes acting independently as well as with NATO members and others.
“DoD should pursue early warning capabilities; discrimination sensors; tracking sensors; Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) capabilities; improved understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum; and sensing and forecasting capabilities,” the 2024 Arctic Strategy suggested.
“We must improve our domain awareness and enhance our ability to detect and respond with our Canadian allies to threats to the homeland,” said Iris Ferguson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Arctic and global resilience. “A key focus for my office is championing investments that will enhance our awareness of threats in the region. We want to make sure that we have the right sensing architecture and the right communications architecture for command and control.”
The 2024 Arctic Strategy further directed the Pentagon to enhance U.S. security through increased presence in the Arctic, including increased operations and military exercises.
“Exercising tactics and equipment is a prerequisite not only for success but for survival in the unique Arctic environment,” Ferguson added. “To this end, one of my office’s key implementation priorities will be ensuring that the joint force is equipped and prepared to operate there.”
The 2024 Arctic Strategy also called for continued service-specific, joint, interagency, and combined exercises as well as war games, simulations, and tabletop exercises that focus on the Arctic. The U.S. military services must also conduct training in the Arctic to build experience operating there, the report stated.
“As the Arctic security environment evolves, DoD must remain prepared to protect our national interests,” the report concluded, adding, “With the appropriate resources, this strategy will enable DoD to support whole-of-government efforts to maintain security and stability in the Arctic and beyond.”
