According to the head of NATO, the militarization of the Arctic by Russia is a “strategic challenge”.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenbergemphasized on Friday the need to strengthen security on the northern flank of the alliance to counter Russiaat the end of a visit to Canada that included a tour of its Arctic defenses.

“The Great North is strategically important for Euro-Atlantic security,” Stoltenberg told a press conference at Cold Lake Air Force Base, Alberta, noting that with the addition of Finland and Sweden seven of the eight Arctic states will become members NATO.

“The shortest route to North America for Russian missiles and attacks is through the North Pole,” he warned. “It makes the role NORAD is vital to North America and therefore also to NATO”.

NORAD – North American Aerospace Defense Command, an organization of the United States and Canada.

Boss NATO and Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeauvisited the early warning radar site of the times cold war and watched Canadian military exercises in the Arctic.

Capabilities Russia in the far north “are a strategic challenge for the entire alliance,” said Stoltenbergciting a significant Russian military buildup in the region.

This includes, he noted, the rediscovery of “hundreds of new and former Soviet military installations in the Arctic” and its use of the Great North “as a testing ground for the most advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles.”

Changing of the climate

Stoltenberg also expressed concern about Chinese penetration into the Arctic for shipping and resource exploration, as well as plans to build the world’s largest icebreaking fleet.

“Beijing D Moscow pledged to intensify practical cooperation in Arctic. This is part of a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values ​​and our interests,” he said. Stoltenberg.

NATOHe pointed out that Russia should respond by expanding its presence in the Far North and investing in new capacities.

He noted that climate change poses new “security challenges” that require fundamental rethinking. NATO In the Arctic.

“Climate change is making the Great North more important because the ice is melting and it is becoming more accessible for both economic and military activities,” he explained.

Trudeau said Canadawhich currently falls short of spending targets NATOwill soon replace its aging fighter fleet and modernize its continental defenses in cooperation with USA.

Ottawa spent billions of dollars on new satellites and underwater sensors in Arcticand the replacement of an aging network of radar stations from Alaska before Quebec which according to Trudeauenhance opportunities Canada “to detect and actually prevent threats emanating from the pole.”

(AFP)