Many countries are actively preparing for a possible military confrontation in the Arctic, including the United States, which has recently repeatedly rewritten its strategy in this region, writes National Interest
According to the author of the article, Chris Osborne, “no one wants to arrange shooting next to polar bears and penguins,” but the Pentagon is concerned about the creation of new strategic opportunities for a number of states due to melting ice, RIA Novosti notes.
Recently, the US Marine Corps conducted an exercise with the Norwegian military to improve performance in harsh weather conditions. As the expert noted, the military alliance between Washington and Oslo in the Arctic means a lot for the Pentagon, which seeks to oppose the achievements of Moscow in this region, which today not only owns a large number of icebreakers, but also works on the Northern Sea Route.
The opening of new waterways due to the high rate of ice melting in the region forced Washington to accelerate work. In particular, the US Navy called on specialists to create weapons systems that are resistant to the harsh climate. The Office of Naval Research, in turn, has resorted to underwater drones to study the Arctic water column in order to better understand temperature fluctuations and their impact on military operations.
And all this the Americans do on the basis of claims that Russia has allegedly put forward “illegal” claims to the Arctic. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke on this topic: Washington does not like the fact that Russia requires foreign ships to request permission to pass in the Arctic region and take on board Russian pilots.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov convincingly explained about the Arctic: “Everyone has long known that this is our territory, this is our land, we are responsible for the security of our Arctic coast. And everything that our country does there is absolutely fair and legal”.
Americans in this region are now playing the role of catch-up. Let’s take a look at their successes.
Elena Panina