The maneuver came at the right time for Norway’s security politicians. 30,000 soldiers, more than 200 aircraft and 50 ships from 27 NATO countries tested their combat capabilities in the far north for weeks. Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s Prime Minister, spoke in advance of an “excellent opportunity to show the unity and strength of the alliance”.
And NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, himself a Norwegian, flew to the Arctic theater of operations for the “Cold Response” maneuver immediately after the Alliance’s summit in Brussels to underpin the Alliance’s presence. “NATO is an arctic alliance because we are in the arctic ourselves,” he said in Bardufoss near the Arctic Circle.
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Only the NATO troops in the far north were not alone. The Russian Navy also showed a presence as two massive Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered battleship a relic of the Cold War, cruised the waters between the coasts of Iceland and Norway during the period of the maneuver.
The level of interest in the Arctic has been evident for several years. States such as Russia and China have long had their eye on the region in which climate change is opening up sea routes and deposits of valuable raw materials. The geopolitical situation in the resource-rich region is now attracting renewed attention. In view of the war, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg spoke of a turning point for the region in which Russia is testing most of its new weapon systems.
The USA is arming itself in the Arctic and Great Britain also announced a few days ago that it would increase its presence. Military activity is growing – and being reassessed in Oslo. “We need to expand our presence in the far north,” Norway’s Defense Minister Odd Roger Enoksen said recently in Oslo. Russia has significant security interests in areas close to Norwegian territory, and the Arctic is also “of great economic importance” for Russia.
In mid-March, the government in Oslo increased the country’s defense budget by three billion crowns (308 million euros). And unlike the exercise planned over many months, the increase in defense budgets can be seen as a direct response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The additional funds are to be used, among other things, to strengthen the Norwegian Navy’s presence in the Arctic and near the border with Russia. “Even if a Russian attack on Norway is very unlikely, we have to recognize that we have a neighbor to the east that is becoming increasingly dangerous and unpredictable,” Enoksen told journalists.
“Aggressive War in Ukraine Accelerates Efforts”
Defense spending increased after the Russian annexation of Crimea. While military spending accounted for around 1.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2014, it rose to over 1.9 percent by 2020. The defense budget grew by seven percent a year in some cases. Among other things, 52 F-35 fighter planes have been purchased for several years. Last year, the Norwegian Navy ordered four submarines from ThyssenKrupp worth 4.4 billion euros.
The recent increase in the defense budget means that Norway will soon invest around two percent of its GDP in defense. “For the Norwegian people, the war in Ukraine is shocking but far away. The increase in the defense budget was hardly noticed,” says Karsten Friis, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. “In politics, however, the security situation has been reassessed since the Russian annexation of Crimea. The war of aggression in Ukraine is accelerating efforts in the defense sector.”
Similar to Germany, Norway recently broke with the restrictive practice for the export of defense equipment. In March 2000, Oslo sent anti-tank systems and thousands of protective vests and helmets to Ukraine. Last Wednesday Defense Minister Enoksen announced further deliveries of armor-piercing weapons.
Designed for the integration of allied troops
In your own country, the main concern is the ability to take on larger formations of allied troops in an emergency. This is exactly what is tested every two years with “Cold Response”. The government invests in larger stockpiles of fuel, ammunition and technical equipment – a prerequisite for absorbing allied troops. Because the country on which Europe’s energy supply already depends would simply be too small to defend itself.
Norway shares a 196-kilometer land border with Russia in the Arctic. There is also a huge sea border with Russia in the Barents Sea. With around 5.3 million inhabitants, the country has just over 17,000 active soldiers. “No one fears the occupation of large parts of the country. That doesn’t work in the Ukraine,” says Friis. “Norway’s armed forces are state-of-the-art,” says Friis. “But they are designed to integrate large troop formations from allies. It’s about having capacities available for emergencies.”
Bilateral agreement with the USA
The new pace in security policy can also be seen in bilateral negotiations. For years, Washington and Oslo, for example, had talks about giving the US military better access to Norwegian military bases and building their own infrastructure. The US is concerned with being able to relocate troops and material more quickly in an emergency.
This is explosive for the government in Oslo. Norway once set itself the rule not to permanently accept troops from allied states in the event of peace and to keep Finnmark, the border region with Russia, largely demilitarized. Tensions with Russia should be avoided and the government is sticking to this to this day. There is still no NATO base in the country.
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The governments concluded an agreement last year on better access to several bases. However, the agreement requires the approval of the Norwegian parliament – given the developments in Ukraine, it can probably be considered secure. “When your own defense options are limited, diplomacy is all the more important,” says Friis. “Bilateral agreements supplement the NATO alliance.” Great Britain has long had infrastructure at Norwegian bases, but does not have permanent soldiers in the country.
A Russian maneuver in February shows how the Kremlin sees NATO’s presence in the Arctic. Just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Navy was practicing in the Barents Sea, also firing nuclear-capable missiles. The political signal to NATO and above all to the USA was unmistakable.
