UDT 2016: Norway calls for revitalised NATO collective defence, increased alliance presence in north

[Zarvan]

A Norwegian official has called for great NATO focus on maritime affairs, with the North Atlantic being a particular area of concern. Pictured here is the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl en route to Svalbard. Source: Norwegian MoD

Key Points

• NATO needs to revitalise concept of collective defence at sea, according to a senior Norwegian defence official
• Greater NATO naval presence in northern European waters may also be required

NATO has been called on to revitalise the notion of collective defence in the maritime domain by a senior Norwegian defence official. The move was suggested to offset what Ministry of Defence State Secretary Oystein Bo sees as strategic change in the nature of the maritime environment and the security risks therein.

Opening the UDT 2016 undersea defence and security conference and exhibition in Oslo on 1 June, Bo said that the need to revitalise the maritime leg of the collective defence concept was driven by the fact that "the strategic environment is changing [and] we are entering a new normal".

He argued also that greater NATO presence is needed at sea in northern waters.

"Allied military peacetime activity in Norway and the North Atlantic remains an important part of a credible and robust policy. Therefore, we would definitely like to see a more frequent peacetime presence of allied forces in the High North and in the North Atlantic."

For Norway, the development of the 'new normal' was evident in the High North, he said, noting that there are two sides to this development. On the one hand, he said, generating stability in the Arctic was a common interest that could form the basis for co-operation between the region's stakeholders. Norwegian and Russian maritime security agencies, for example, have long been co-operating on a number of low-level maritime security tasks including over-fishing, with the respective coastguards also co-operating to provide safety and security capacity for the benefit of both countries' fishing communities. In addition, the two countries have put in place a maritime delimitation agreement covering the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and a 'hot line' runs between Norway's joint operational headquarters and the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.

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