During the past decade, American strategies in the Arctic have been marked by dramatic policy shifts, ranging from the engagement policies of the Barack Obama administration, (which included a watershed visit to Alaska in August/September 2015, focused on the perils of climate change to the state), to the mercurial and frequently regressive approach to the Arctic by the successor Trump government. Facing a growing number of challenges in the far north, including not only environmental threats but also the growing militarisation of the region, the government of Joe Biden has sought to develop a more balanced approach to US policies in the Arctic, while recognizing the potential for the glacial relations between Russia and the West to spill over into northern security concerns.
With the Arctic Council attempting a tentative return to normal operations under the current chairship held by Norway, Moscow remains an unknown factor in future Arctic relations, and over the past few weeks, Washington has been demonstrating a renewed concern for maintaining the ‘rules-based order’ in the region.
The publication in October 2022 of the most recent US Arctic policy paper [pdf] reflects the desire of the Biden government to balance environmental, human, and military security. The four ‘pillars’ outlined in the document, namely security, climate change, sustainable development and international cooperation and governance, represented a comprehensive strategic approach in the face of more multifaceted challenges in the region along with the need to reboot strained relations with Arctic allies which were created by President Biden’s predecessor. The security pillar of the national strategy was grounded in the need for greater Arctic situational awareness, advancing a military presence in the Arctic including with governments in the European Arctic region, and developing infrastructure to stand up against both climate change and attacks by adversaries.
There was also a promise in the 2022 Arctic strategy paper to improve America’s icebreaker presence in the Arctic, as the US Coast Guard has only two aging vessels, the Healy and the Polar Star, capable of operating in polar waters. This task has proven difficult to complete, given that due to ongoing delays the first new American icebreaker is now not expected to be deployed before 2027, or later.
Despite the omnipresent icebreaker question, last month the US did demonstrate the commitment to improving its military visibility. The arrival of the US Navy aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford in Norwegian waters, the first such visit to the country by an American carrier in sixty-five years, was the most telling sign yet that the United States was serious about augmenting its strategic presence in the Arctic Ocean.
Norway is, understandably, widely seen as a front-line state in the current standoff between the West and Russia since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine early last year. Norway’s far northern Sør-Varanger [in Norwegian] municipality shares a 196km frontier with Russia, and the two states also share a maritime border in the Barents region, one which was demarcated in 2010 after decades of negotiations. Military cooperation has grown closer between Oslo and Washington in the past few years, and especially since the invasion of Ukraine, with Norway sharing borders with new NATO member Finland. Next-door Sweden is also seeking membership in the alliance, and also recently agreed to host NATO forces on its soil even before its admission is to be confirmed.
The American carrier arrived in Oslo on 24 May, after a rendezvous with Norway’s Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen. Aboard the vessel, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated, ‘This is a historical event, nothing less. A show of force. But just as important: A show of friendship- and a show of trust.’
Days later, the Ford sailed north of the Arctic Circle, accompanied by the Norwegian frigate Otto Sverdrup, for manoeuvres, joining other vessels, aircraft and an unspecified number of submarines in the Vestfjorden region [in Norwegian] near the city of Bodø, as part of Arctic Challenge Exercise 2023. American and Norwegian forces reportedly joined those of eleven other nations for the manoeuvres, including from other Arctic and Arctic-adjacent countries including Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. As well, it was confirmed [in Norwegian] by Norwegian authorities that the Ford was placed under NATO command during part of its stay in Norway’s waters.
The ship’s visit, as well as the overall exercise, drew a sharp rebuke from representatives of the Russian Embassy in Oslo, with the operations referred to as ‘illogical’, given that there was no visible threat to Norwegian security. Nonetheless, the arrival of the carrier coupled with the NATO military exercises was the most distinct signal to date that the United States and its allies were committed to demonstrating that the Arctic had become a security priority for the Western alliance.
In April this year, Moscow had constructed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Beijing which would allow for greater cooperation [in Chinese] between Russia’s Federal Security Service (Федеральная служба безопасности) and the Chinese Coast Guard (Zhongguo Haishiju 中国海警局) in areas of maritime policing. The agreement was signed in the Arctic city of Murmansk, but it was unclear whether such bilateral cooperation would extend to the Russian Arctic. Since the invasion of Ukraine began, the Putin regime has sought to improve relations with non-Arctic states outside of Europe, and this month it was announced that the Russian Arctic port facilities at Tiksi (Тикси) in Yakutia would open to international vessels and potentially jump-start [in Russian] additional sea traffic in the Northern Sea Route.
Also this month, Washington announced another decision designed to increase its Arctic presence in the form of a new diplomatic posting which would open shortly in Tromsø. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the ‘Presence Post’ as creating a needed US diplomatic footprint north of the Arctic Circle, which would become the most northernly American mission. Tromsø, located in the Norwegian Arctic and close to the Arctic borders of both Finland and Sweden, has begun to be more widely viewed as a crossroads for regional affairs as the far north opens to greater economic and geopolitical activity.
Both the United States and its NATO allies have acknowledged that the Arctic can no longer be viewed as a peripheral region from a hard strategic viewpoint, but the rapid series of events over the past month has augmented American interests in the European Arctic, and sent out a loud signal to both friends and adversaries of the direction in which US Arctic policies may be heading.
Over the Circle 