The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has launched Arctic Sentry to strengthen security in the Arctic and High North and to deter China and Russia from making inroads.
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte stated that it was crucial to do more due to “Russia’s increased military activity and China’s growing interest in the High North.”
Allies have agreed to do more to ensure collective security in the region, Rutte said on Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of Allied Defence Ministers at NATO headquarters.
Speaking to the press, Rutte commended the increase in defence spending, “up by tens of billions”, and called for a continued focus on defence production.
Allies are investing in ISR capabilities, the Arctic satellite project, icebreakers, air and maritime drones, vehicles, weapons, and other equipment that can operate in extreme cold.
The new military activity is expected to involve thousands of personnel and will be led by Joint Force Command Norfolk, enhancing NATO’s posture against threats.
Established in 2019, JFC Norfolk secures the strategic sea lines of communication across the Atlantic, among other duties. Its operational headquarters is in Virginia, United States.
Arctic Sentry, to include exercises like Denmark’s Arctic Endurance and Norway’s Cold Response, comes five months after NATO launched Eastern Sentry following the Russian drones’ violation of Polish airspace.
NATO intensified the establishment of the mission after President Donald Trump’s insistence that the United States needed to take over Greenland, a part of Denmark, for national security reasons.
Denmark and seven European partners pushed back, eliciting a threat of additional tariffs from Trump.
The U.S. leader walked back after he met with Rutte last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
NATO launches Arctic Sentry to counter China, Russia
