NATO must look ‘northward’ to Arctic threats, Anand warns in speech

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization must turn its focus to security threats in the Arctic, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday.

Canada is investing heavily in Arctic defence, Anand said, speaking at the Ottawa Conference on Defence and Security on Wednesday.

“NATO’s focus now must not only be towards the east, but also northward. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, must look northward,” Anand said at the conference.

Last month, Canada opened a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, as U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his threats to acquire the semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

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Describing the opening of the consulate as “one of the most poignant moments” of her life, Anand said the consulate took on “new meaning” in the current “geostrategic environment.”

2:04 Canadian Armed Forces train in Arctic conditions amid increased geopolitical attention on the region

Canada will also open a consulate in Anchorage, Alaska, she said, adding that Ottawa will co-ordinate with NATO allies as there is “global competition in the Arctic.”

“The threats are evolving from climate change to economic threats to strategic and military threats as, for example, Russian infrastructure moves further and further north towards the Arctic Circle,” she said.

Responding to expanding Russian power requires “pragmatic, cooperative action with NATO and with new alliances like the Nordic-Baltic countries with whom we are closely collaborating,” Anand said.

In addition to investing in Arctic defence capabilities, Canada must also work with and be in close collaboration and consultation with Indigenous peoples.”

“In today’s strategic environment, Arctic sovereignty is not simply declared, it must be demonstrated,” she said.