NATO, Canada and the Arctic /

The paragraph in the new defence policy opens the possibility for a NATO exercise in the future. [...] On the one hand, five of the eight Arctic states2 are NATO members and so exercises in the European Arctic involving them are not new. [...] Certainly, the number of articles warning of the dangers of an undefended GIUK gap (the maritime boundaries between Greenland, Iceland and the U. K., which Russia’s Northern Fleet must transit to reach the North Atlantic) is on the rise. [...] We welcome the initiative of Iceland in hosting a NATO Seminar and raising the interest of Allies in safety and security-related developments in the High North, including climate change.”5 Point 110 in Canada’s new defence policy, suggesting Canada will “[c]onduct joint exercises with Arctic allies and partners and support the strengthening of situational awareness and information sharing in the A [...] All states can benefit from better and all- domain awareness, and sharing of such information is always advisable to have a more complete understanding of the vessels of interest in the Arctic Ocean.