The Canadian-Canadian Arctic Edge 2020 exercises will begin in Alaska on February 24th. They will involve the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).
“Arctic Edge - 2020 - exercises of the Command of the Aerospace Defense of North America and the Northern Command of the US Armed Forces, held every two years. The headquarters of the US Armed Forces Command in Alaska will become the basis for bilateral joint exercises, which will be held throughout Alaska from February 24 to March 6, ”the report reads on the page of the Northern Command of the US Armed Forces.
The US Marine Corps reserve, in turn, informed that the exercises "are aimed at practicing actions to defend the state."
“Arctic Edge exercises will prepare and test the ability of the armed forces to conduct tactical actions in extremely cold weather conditions that are characteristic of the Arctic region,” the corps official Facebook page says.
It is expected that about 1,000 military personnel of all types of US troops, as well as members of the Joint Operations Command of Canada, will take part in the exercises.
It is also reported that preparation for maneuvers was carried out two weeks before their expected start.
“Marines from the 7th battalion of engineering support, the 1st logistic support group and the MTO combat operations battalion included in it - 7, and also the MTO combat operations regiment - February 1, are held in Fort Greeley, Alaska, qualification a live firing course in preparation for Arctic Edge 2020 exercises, ”the statement said.
- Arctic
- Gettyimages.ru
- © Bassador
“Exacerbate the situation”
According to experts, while conducting exercises in the Arctic, the USA and Canada are trying to show that this region is not a zone of influence of Moscow and Washington and its allies can restrain it in this part of the world.
“However, in fact, the United States’s position in the region has greatly weakened: instead of paying attention to this part of the planet, they relied mainly on the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region,” said Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in conversation with RT.
The analyst also added that the current maneuvers of the United States and Canada are "an indication that a containment policy is being pursued with respect to Russia."
A similar point of view is shared by military expert Ivan Konovalov. According to him, the upcoming exercises are "a continuation of the common policy of NATO and the United States in the Arctic."
“Thus, Washington and Ottawa exacerbate the situation. However, they are doing this to cover up the defeat of NATO in the region. Two years ago, the alliance conducted large-scale block exercises in Norway, which cannot be described as successful. Training data showed that NATO forces are not prepared for large-scale maneuvers. Now Washington and Ottawa are striving to improve the situation, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.
Power building
The United States often explains the intensification of its military presence in the Arctic as the “Russian threat”.
So, a few days ago in the United States once again they expressed concern about the "aggressive actions" of Russia in the region. This was announced in the lower house of Congress by the chairman of the subcommittee on shipping and maritime security, Lou Correa.
During his speech, he noted that Russia over the past years “has increased the number of military facilities and intensified the activities of its armed forces in the Arctic.”
In addition, the congressman said that the United States "consider it their duty" to protect the economic interests of the state due to increased activity in the region as a whole. However, according to him, the US Coast Guard, which is engaged in the implementation of this task, does not have the necessary resources.
As Ivan Konovalov notes, such accusations against Russia "are untenable."
“Russia is only protecting its borders, while the upcoming maneuvers of the United States and Canada are provocative. It is clear who these maneuvers are directed against. Thus, the NATO countries are preparing for the future confrontation for the region, ”the expert emphasized.
In this case, as noted in the Russian Ministry of Defense in late December, the United States increased the activity of its Navy in the Chukotka region. This was stated by the chief of staff of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces (OKVS) in the northeast, Mikhail Bilichenko, on the air of the Zvezda television channel. According to the commander, the activity of the US Armed Forces in this direction was observed earlier, but did not go beyond the scope of daily operational combat training.
“Now the composition of the groupings is increasing, including the landing of amphibious assault forces,” Bilichenko emphasized.
In addition, we recall that in October 2018, NATO countries conducted the largest exercises in the Arctic in several years. Trident Juncture maneuvers took place on the territory of Norway, about 50 thousand military personnel from 31 states took part in them.
- US Navy Alexandria Arctic Submarine
- © US Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shawn P. Eklund
The issue of icebreakers
According to Konstantin Blokhin, the lack of an icebreaker fleet prevents the buildup of the military potential of the United States and other NATO countries in the Arctic, and they will not be able to rectify the situation in the coming years.
“The Polar Star is an old icebreaker in 1976 and is the only active heavy class icebreaker in the United States. Given that he had already been decommissioned, it is not known how long he can still serve. The medium-sized multi-purpose icebreaker Healy was commissioned in 1999. Washington plans to expand its heavy icebreaker fleet by 2023. However, it may already now happen that the United States will not have icebreakers at all, unlike Russia, which has dozens of icebreakers of various classes, as well as floating technical bases. In addition, the Russian side is laying new icebreakers. The Russian Federation has a significant advantage in the Arctic over the United States, ”Blokhin explained.
According to the analyst, Washington’s interest in the Arctic is also due to the presence of large reserves of natural resources in this region.
“The Arctic direction for the United States is becoming especially relevant in the context of a reduction in the world’s reserves of natural resources, competition for which between the great powers is intensifying. But the Arctic is a storehouse of oil and gas fields. However, despite all the teachings of the American side and its NATO allies, Russia remains and will remain the dominant force there, ”he said.
According to him, for Russia, the Arctic is important from a geostrategic and economic point of view.
“This primarily concerns the new trade route between Russia and China, which is half the length of the route through the Suez Canal (Northern Sea Route. - RT ). In addition, in the case of a hypothetical armed conflict between the Russian Federation and the USA, the trajectory of intercontinental ballistic missiles will just pass over the Arctic, ”the analyst concluded.