NATO kicks off ‘Arctic Sentry’ operation following Greenland brouhaha

PARIS — NATO kicked off operation Arctic Sentry to bolster the alliance’s posture in the high north, after weeks of deliberations by allies how to address claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that security threats in the region require the United States to take control of Greenland.

The operation will tie together various allied activities in the region, including Denmark’s Arctic Endurance exercises, NATO said in a statement on Wednesday . Denmark stepped up its military presence in Greenland and invited allies including France and the United Kingdom to join after Trump escalated threats to take over the Danish territory.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and NATO’s military commander for Europe have warned of growing threats in the Arctic and high north from Russia and China, though Denmark has said there are no Chinese vessels near Greenland. As polar ice melts due to climate change, the Arctic is becoming more accessible, raising concerns Russia will increasingly challenge NATO in the region.

“What we are assessing is that there is a real threat” as sea lanes open up, Rutte said at a press conference in Brussels ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Thursday. “There is every need to make sure that we protect this vital part of NATO territory.”

Arctic Sentry will be led by Joint Forces Command Norfolk and overseen by Allied Command Operations, NATO said. The operation follows a meeting between Trump and Rutte in Davos, Switzerland, in January, where the two agreed the alliance should collectively take more responsibility for defense of the region, according to NATO.

Denmark will contribute “substantially” to Arctic Sentry, Danish Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement , though the Danish defense ministry said it’s “too early” to say what the operation will look like exactly.

“The Kingdom has long been pushing for NATO to play a greater role in the Arctic, and in recent months we have intensified that work,” Lund Poulsen said. “That is why I’m extremely pleased that this work is now resulting in concrete action.”

Arctic Sentry will bring all allied activities in the high north into “one overarching operational approach to the region,” which will allow to quickly address any gaps, according to Rutte. The operation will also benefit from “the latest technological insights” from Allied Command Transformation, the secretary general said.

“What is really new about it is that for the first time now, we will bring everything we do in the Arctic together under one command,” Rutte said.

Rutte said that while he can’t comment on all intelligence NATO is getting, “we have a clear sense that the Russians and the Chinese are becoming more and more active there.” He defended Trump’s concerns about Russia and China increasing their Arctic presence as sea lanes open up. “We have to be very watchful and not naive, that’s basically what he’s saying,” Rutte said.

Arctic Sentry will be an “increased vigilance activity” similar to the alliance’s Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry operations, under direct authority of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, according to Rutte.

The United Kingdom plans to double British troops deployed to Norway to 2,000 over three years, the Ministry of Defence said in a separate statement on Wednesday. U.K. forces are expected to play a “vital role” in Arctic Sentry, with military planning underway, according to the MoD.

“Russia poses the greatest threat to Arctic and High North security that we have seen since the Cold War,” U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement. “We see Putin rapidly re-establishing military presence in the region, including reopening old Cold War bases.”

The country will deploy 1,500 Royal Marine Commandos to Norway in March for the NATO exercise Cold Response, which will take place across Norway, Finland and Sweden, the MoD said.

The U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force will engage in the exercise Lion Protector in September, with hundreds of troops deploying across Iceland, the Danish Straits and Norway to train protection of critical infrastructure and joint command and control capabilities, the U.K. said.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——北约启动了“北极哨兵行动”，以加强该联盟在北极地区的态势。此前数周，盟国一直在讨论如何应对美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的说法，即该地区的安全威胁需要美国控制格陵兰岛。

北约周三发表声明称，此次行动将把该地区的各项盟国活动联系起来，其中包括丹麦的“北极耐力”演习。此前，特朗普威胁要占领丹麦领土格陵兰岛，丹麦随后加强了在格陵兰岛的军事存在，并邀请包括法国和英国在内的盟国加入。

北约秘书长马克·吕特和北约欧洲军事司令警告称，俄罗斯和中国在北极和高纬度地区构成的威胁日益加剧，但丹麦方面表示，格陵兰岛附近没有中国船只。随着气候变化导致极地冰盖融化，北极地区变得更容易进入，这引发了人们对俄罗斯将在该地区不断挑战北约的担忧。

“我们评估认为，随着海上航道的开放，存在着真正的威胁，”吕特在周四北约国防部长会议召开前夕于布鲁塞尔举行的新闻发布会上表示。“我们完全有必要确保保护北约领土的这一重要部分。”

北约表示，“北极哨兵”行动将由诺福克联合部队司令部领导，并由盟军作战司令部监督。据北约称，此次行动是在特朗普和英国首相吕特1月份在瑞士达沃斯会晤之后进行的，双方在会晤中同意北约应共同承担更多该地区的防务责任。

丹麦国防大臣特罗尔斯·伦德·波尔森在一份声明中表示，丹麦将为“北极哨兵”行动做出“实质性”贡献，但丹麦国防部表示，现在谈论该行动的具体形式“为时尚早”。

“沙特阿拉伯王国长期以来一直敦促北约在北极地区发挥更大作用，近几个月来，我们加大了这方面的工作力度，”伦德·波尔森说。“因此，我非常高兴看到这项工作现在正在取得切实成果。”

据吕特称，“北极哨兵”行动将把盟军在北极地区的所有活动纳入“一个统领全局的区域作战方针”，从而能够迅速弥补任何不足。他还表示，该行动还将受益于盟军转型司令部的“最新技术成果”。

“真正具有创新性的是，我们将首次把我们在北极地区的所有行动集中到一个指挥之下，”吕特说。

吕特表示，虽然他无法对北约掌握的所有情报发表评论，但他“清楚地感觉到，俄罗斯和中国在北极地区的活动越来越频繁”。他为特朗普关于随着海上航道的开通，俄罗斯和中国在北极地区日益活跃的担忧辩护。“我们必须保持高度警惕，不能天真，这基本上就是他想表达的意思，”吕特说道。

据吕特称，“北极哨兵”行动将是一项“加强警戒行动”，类似于联盟的“波罗的海哨兵”和“东部哨兵”行动，由欧洲盟军最高司令直接指挥。

英国国防部周三在一份单独声明中表示，英国计划在三年内将部署在挪威的英军人数增加一倍，达到2000人。国防部称，英军预计将在“北极哨兵”行动中发挥“至关重要的作用”，目前军事规划正在进行中。

英国国防大臣约翰·希利在一份声明中表示：“俄罗斯对北极和高北地区安全构成了冷战以来最大的威胁。我们看到普京正在迅速重建该地区的军事存在，包括重新启用冷战时期的旧基地。”

英国国防部表示，该国将于3月向挪威派遣1500名皇家海军陆战队突击队员，参加北约“寒冷反应”演习，该演习将在挪威、芬兰和瑞典举行。

英国表示，由英国领导的联合远征军将于9月参加“狮子守护者”演习，数百名士兵将部署在冰岛、丹麦海峡和挪威，以训练关键基础设施的保护以及联合指挥和控制能力。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。