NATO Secretary General Mark Rutteannounced this Wednesday that The Atlantic Alliance will strengthen its positions in the Arctic with a joint mission in the region called ‘Arctic Sentinel’just a few weeks after voltage spike over Greenlandfollowing threats from the United States against Denmark and its allies for control of the island.
“Just two hours ago, we launched Operation Arctic Sentinel”Rutte announced in a press conference. The secretary general has explained that the The High North and the Arctic are increasingly important regions for the alliance. Although the entry into NATO of Sweden y Finland strengthens its position in the area, “before the Russia’s increased military activity and China’s growing interest in the High North, it was crucial” that the Atlánncia Alliance do “more”.
Rutte has not gone into details about what exactly the mission will entail “because this would inform people in Beijing and Moscow too much.” He did point out that “what is really new is that, for the first time” the “activities in the Arctic under the same command”. A command that will be shared between United States and Europe.
What does seem to be clear is that they will be part of the mission the military exercises that are already carried out in the Denmark regionknown as ‘Arctic Resistance’, and Norway‘Cold response’. These exercises are designed to train allied forces to fight in extreme conditions like those presented by the Arctic.
The initiative emulates the mission known as ‘Eastern Sentinel’ which operates precisely to guarantee security in the east of the alliance against the growing threat from Russia. It will allow forces to be united that are already present in the area to a large extent. Rutte explained that the mission will have “thousands” of officers and sufficient resources. For the Dutchman, the initiative “makes clear the commitment to guarantee the security of the Arctic and the entire alliance”.
A pact with Trump
He US President Donald Trumphas threatened on several occasions in recent months to take control of Greenland. The island, an independent territory that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is NATO’s main asset in the Arctic given its strategic position. Trump had cited reasons for “national security”arguing that neither Denmark nor the alliance were doing enough to protect the territory from threats from Russia and China.
Rutte had committed tostrengthen the presence of the organization in the region after a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland). In parallel, the US Administration and the Danish Government began a bilateral negotiation on Greenland.
That pact made Washington back down after having threatened with tariffs to the exports of half a dozen countries. These countries, among which were France, Germany or Netherlandsthey had sent military personnel to Greenland as show of solidarity with Denmark in the face of Trump’s threats.
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