"China's Intentions in The Arctic Are Unclear - And That is a Growing Concern" Reykjavik (High North News): “When I first attended the Arctic Circle Assembly conference, the tone and content were different than now. The focus on security in the Arctic has become much stronger", says Admiral Rob Bauer, head of NATO's military committee. Now he warns about China's unclear, two-faced and increasing activity in the Arctic and the worrying Sino-Russian ties.
All Clear for Nuclear Testing at Novaya Zemlya, Says Russian Head of Test Site Russia's nuclear test site at Novaya Zemlya, about 80 miles from Finnmark, Northern Norway, is ready for resumption of full-scale testing activities, according to its head Andrei Sinitsyn. "If the order comes, we can start testing at any moment," he says.
The Norwegian MoD Believes the Russian Nuclear Threat to Be Real The Norwegian Ministry of Defense believes Russia's plans for nuclear weapons in space to be a real threat. "We and our allies must be able to face this type of threat," writes the department's state secretary.
New Defense Agreement Gives US Access to Several Military Areas in Finnish Lapland Finland's defense cooperation agreement with the US is now public. It will give American forces access to 15 military bases and exercise areas on Finnish soil. Five of these are in Lapland, Northern Finland.
Serious times in Sweden: Broad Support for Defense Cooperation Agreement with the USA Sweden has negotiated and signed a defense cooperation agreement with the USA in just about a year's time. A large majority in the Swedish parliament supports it. "Cooperation with the USA is being strengthened rapidly for several reasons. It is serious now," says Niklas Granholm at the Swedish Defence Research Agency.
Sweden and the US Signs Defense Cooperation Agreement Sweden and the USA's newly signed defense cooperation agreement outlines that US forces will have unimpeded access to 17 military bases on Swedish soil. Four of these are in Northern Sweden. The agreement also opens up for wide US authority and criminal jurisdiction.
Russia Conducted Nuclear Exercise in the North Russia's nuclear forces have practiced launching ballistic missiles in the Barents Sea and the Arkhangelsk region, according to the Kremlin on Wednesday. After a parliamentary decision the same day, the country will soon be out of the nuclear testing moratorium. At the same time, NATO has just concluded its nuclear exercise in Southern Europe.
Perhaps More People Will Fathom the Severity of the Situation As Putin Displays His Nuclear Briefcase Commentary: The images of two Russian officers carrying the briefcases that could ignite a nuclear war have been etched into my brain as I drive along the border with Russia. The briefcase is in China with Vladimir Putin. The nuclear bombs are only a few kilometers away.
A Neighborship from Hell Commentary: We do not choose our neighbors. As a nation, we are at the mercy of our geographical location, also when we are pressured by two Arctic "great powers" gone astray.
Russia Lifts Veil on New Arctic Military Base, but Secrets Remain While Russian officials frequently cite the need to defend the country’s interest in the Arctic, Arctic experts see a number of underlying objectives for the expansion of military assets.
