COLOGNE, Germany Though the Arctic falls outside the Western military alliances traditional focus, NATO officials have begun paying closer attention to the region. Camille Grand, NATOs assistant secretary general for defense investment, spoke with Defense News about how the conversation has changed due to climate change and economic competition.

How does NATO view the Arctic region?

What we see is twofold: First of all, because of climate change and because of economic competition in the region, we see more of a great game of power, where the Russians, the Chinese are interested in access to the Arctic, to the sea routes and to the potential natural resources. So that is one element that we see as the long-term, overarching development, and therefore NATO has been paying more and more attention to what we prefer to call the High North.

And we are, along with our Nordic members like Norway and Denmark, paying attention to how much activity is going on in the region. Ive seen in my last few years at NATO an increased focus on that. Whereas the working assumption 10 years ago was that it was more of an area preserved from strategic competition and risks, today it is not as obvious as that. Quite on the contrary, we see activity going on in the region.

Is it inevitable that there will be conflict in the High North?

All this being said, the point is not to describe a likely conflict in the region. It is still a region where the extreme weather conditions most of the year make the case for more cooperation than conflict, where waging military operations is extraordinarily complicated. But overall, I would say that we are paying more attention to the region. And whats interesting for me is that member nations that are party to the Arctic Council traditionally were a bit guarded on the fact that NATO should play a role. But now they are more in favor of seeing NATO, lets say, show its flag in the region as well.

Why do you think that is?

I think it is primarily driven by what I see as an increased level of Russian activity in the High North, and it speaks to an interesting maritime dimension in the opening of the northern routes for shipping and so on, although that is still very complicated. But at the end of the day, it is about what is happening there, looking at whats happening in the Northern Atlantic, including more monitoring at sea and in the air. Thats a new focus area there. You do see jets being scrambled and a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with long-range missions by the Russian Air Force. So you do see things happening there that deserve our attention.

Sign up for our Early Bird Brief Get the defense industry's most comprehensive news and information straight to your inbox

Subscribe

Enter a valid email address (please select a country) United States United Kingdom Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Thanks for signing up!

By giving us your email, you are opting in to the Early Bird Brief.

How does NATO, as an organization, tackle questions relating to the region?

In the NATO political structures, we dont have committees that deal with the south, the north, the Mediterranean and so forth. So the issues are dealt with through our normal processes for planning, for operations and for political debates. We have not established a working group on any region. Sometimes it will take the form of a dedicated paper or strategy. I dont think we are there yet with the High North. But I have seen that become part of the broader conversation, which was probably not the case five or 10 years ago.

You might remember that Trident Juncture, our biggest exercise last year, took place in Norway, which is a way to practice how to operate in these conditions. The fact that the largest NATO exercise took place in Norway says something. Our close relationship with our partners Sweden and Finland also plays in favor of paying more attention to the High North.

The Norwegians are quite keen on making clear that they do have infrastructure to receive alliance support if needed.

Excerpt from:

NATO's Camille Grand on the alliance's Arctic tack - DefenseNews.com