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Climate change and the ongoing diminishing of the ice-caps appear to provoke interest not only with ecologists and 'green' politicians. Increasing accessibility of the vital energy and naval resources, appearance of far more favorable logistic solutions via Arctic region, and, most importantly, unprecedented advantages for both anti-missile defense and missile attacks – these are all factors drawing the enhanced attention of NATO. Sure thing, the alliance is delicately trying to disguise its involvement into the Arctic matters with the rhetoric on intergovernmental interaction in the framework of the Arctic Council. The aim is to create the NATO public image as a mere mediator and coordinator in the negotiation processes. Meanwhile facts available now suggest the opposite. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been consistently expanding its military activities in the polar region since the 2000s. Here is only a short litany of the NATO activities in the Arctic Circle:
- since 2006 there are regularly held regional exercises Cold Response involving Air Force, Navy, and Army servicemen, as well as NATO Special operations forces;
- since 2007 Canada has been conducting military training Operation Nanook. The country is also establishing an Army reserve unit in Yellowknife and has started construction of an Arctic submarine base:
- in 2009 Norway moved its Operational Command Headquarters from Stavanger into Reitan, thus becoming the first country with its central military command located in the Arctic. The major combat formation, Northern Brigade, equipped with armored vehicles, has been deployed in the Norwegian Near Arctic region;
- in 2013 president Obama approved the National Strategy for the Arctic Region proclaiming the Washington's right for unilateral action aimed at defending its 'vital interests';
- in 2015 in the Arctic parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland the massive maneuvers Arctic Challenge Exercises-2015 took place. More than 100 military jets and over 4 thousand soldiers from six NATO countries (Norway, Great Britain, Germany, the USA, France, and the Netherlands), as well as from formally neutral Switzerland, Sweden and Finland, were involved. In naval activities 50 warships representing 17 countries were engaged.
It can't be called other than a full-fledged preparation of the future military expansion to be followed by the share-out of the Arctic resource pie.
