Military Tensions Heating Up On Canada’s Coldest Frontier
The latest flashpoint in Arctic politics - Friday's revelation that Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian bomber on the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama's Feb. 19 visit to Ottawa - comes as Norway and its Nordic neighbours weigh a possible military pact to defend each other against potential aggression on the polar frontier.
The proposed Nordic "declaration of solidar
More..ity" - recommended in a February report commissioned by the governments of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland - is to be considered at a May summit of foreign ministers from the five nations.
Prepared by former Norwegian foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg - father of Norway's current prime minister Jens Stoltenberg - the report argues for much greater co-operation among the Nordic nations, including Denmark's Greenland, in an era when melting ice is opening the Arctic Ocean to shipping, tourism and oil exploration.
"The Nordic governments should issue a mutual declaration of solidarity," the Stoltenberg report argued, as part of a plan laying out "how they would respond if a Nordic country were subject to external attack or undue pressure."
It's yet another sign, said University of Calgary political scientist Rob Huebert, of the intensifying international interest in the oil-rich Arctic, its increased strategic importance for northern nations and - above all - a growing wariness of Russia's revitalized military activity in the polar north.
The Nordic proposal, said Huebert, is clearly "Russia-inspired" - driven by recent signals from Moscow that the Arctic is a prime focus for Russia's economic growth and resurgent military.
Along with an increase in Russian patrol flights in the Arctic near Canadian and American air space, the Kremlin recently committed to strengthening military training and infrastructure in its Far North.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Prime Minister Stephen Harper both made strong statements on Friday conveying concern about the latest Russian flight in the Arctic.
Canada's pointed response has prompted some applause but also some skepticism from critics who suggest the Conservative government is exploiting a relatively routine encounter with a Russian aircraft to bolster support for its spending on the Canadian military and the Arctic region.
But Huebert said it's important for the Canadian government to respond firmly to displays of Russian military power in the Arctic.
"Regardless of your view of the Tories, they're not in charge of the Russian military," he said. "They're not the ones down at the Kremlin deploying these aircraft."
Huebert also noted that the Russian flight highlights a little-discussed issue related to the Northwest Passage, the disputed route through Canada's Arctic islands that this country considers part of its internal waters - a view rejected by European nations and the U.S.
But if the U.S. claim - that the Northwest Passage is an international strait - is valid, foreign flights over the Canadian sea route by Russia, the U.S. or China would have to be permitted, Huebert said.
Norway Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store has also recently expressed his country's concerns about Russia's expanding military presence in the Arctic.
"In recent months we have seen indications of a more ambitious and self-assertive Russian foreign policy that may make co-operation more difficult, including for Norway," Store said in his annual foreign policy address to the Norwegian legislature. "We are noting a more assertive approach to sovereignty and a return to old patterns of military exercises."
While noting that "Russia's increased military activity along the Norwegian coast probably reflects a desire to show its strength," and doesn't represent an immediate threat, Store added that "we cannot disregard the fact that the High North is still of military-strategic importance as a base for Russia's nuclear fleet and as an exercise area."
Store concluded that "firmness, contact and dialogue are the only viable way of meeting these and other challenges in our relations with Russia. Isolating this huge and historically proud nation is not in anyone's interest."
http://www.dose.ca/news/story.html?id=1340869 Less..
Added: Mar 1 2009 In: news_politics
By: drynwhyl
- Views: 2263 |
- Votes: 1 |
- Recommendations: 0 |
- Comments: 60
