The NATO military alliance had barely announced the launch of its Arctic Sentry programme on Wednesday before it found itself fielding accusations that the new scheme, meant to appease United States President Donald Trump, is nothing more than a rebranding exercise.
The new multi-domain activity, agreed during a meeting between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos last month, is meant to strengthen NATO’s posture in the Arctic and High North by bringing together the activities of the 32 allies in the region under one overarching operational strategy.
These will include Denmark’s Arctic Endurance, a series of multi-domain exercises designed to enhance the allies’ ability to operate in the region, and Norway’s upcoming exercise Cold Response, where troops from across the alliance have already begun to arrive, according to a statement.
“In the face of Russia’s increased military activity and China’s growing interest in the High North, it was crucial that we do more,” Rutte told reporters.
“For the first time now, we will bring everything we do in the Arctic together under one command. By doing that, we will not only leverage what we are doing much more effectively and have a bigger impact, we will also be able to assess which gaps there are, which we have to fill – and of course we will fill them.”
A senior NATO military officer conceded that NATO’s footprint in the Arctic will “fluctuate over time”, but pushed back on suggestions that Arctic Sentry amounts to little more than a rebranding exercise, noting that the model mirrors the alliance’s Baltic Sentry and efforts on the eastern flank, which have also evolved since their inception.
“Part of this is increasing our awareness of the region, which is vast and harsh,” the officer said. “Operating in that region takes a certain set of skills – skills which, as an alliance, we will have to develop over time. Linking national activities in with NATO activities, like we did very successfully in the Baltic, increases our ability to track what’s going on. That allows us to better plan and execute as we progress.”
The officer argued that Arctic Sentry shows the alliance is “trying to get ahead” of threats.
“We’re not waiting for a cable-cutting incident to happen or a drone incursion, for example, to occur. We’re trying to get ahead of that,” the officer said.
Asked about what would constitute success, the officer said that allies would be watching how Russia and China respond to their increased activity in the Arctic and make the necessary adjustments.
Enhanced vigilance
The effort will be led by Joint Force Command Norfolk, NATO’s newest operational headquarters, whose area of responsibility was expanded in December to include the entire Arctic and High North.
The enhanced vigilance activity comes just weeks after Trump threatened to forcefully take Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of the Danish Kingdom, endangering the very existence of the 70-year-old military alliance.
Trump argued the US needed Greenland for national security reasons, citing increased activity in the area by both Russia and China, and repeatedly castigated European allies for not doing enough to secure it.
The row between the two sides of the Atlantic was resolved after Trump and Rutte agreed on a “framework for a future deal on Greenland” whose details are not publicly known. The US, Greenland and Denmark are currently engaged in trilateral talks.
Rutte said the alliance assesses that the activities by Russia and China in the Arctic constitute a “real threat”.
“Knowing what we have seen in the past, the sea lanes opening up, that this will increase and that, therefore, there is every need to make sure that we protect this vital part of the NATO territory,” he added.
Allies are expected to individually commit assets to the region in the coming months.
The UK announced on Wednesday that the number of British troops deployed to Norway will double over three years from 1,000 to 2,000, and that British forces “will play their part in NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission”.