But it is Canada that has been appointed the role of vanguard in the impending showdown with Russia over the Arctic. Specifically, over the Lomonosov Ridge which runs 1,800 kilometers from Russia's New Siberian Islands through the center of the Arctic Ocean to Canada's Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. [10]
Ottawa has conducted its largest-ever military exercises, established new bases and exhibited increasing truculence and saber rattling toward Russia in the region.
Washington, although it along with Brussels is employing Canada to confront Russia at the top of the world, is not shy in asserting its own military presence and pursuing its own geostrategic objectives in the Arctic.
The Navy Arctic Roadmap - a curious choice of nouns when speaking of a part of the globe without land - as the document itself takes pains to point out, proceeds from the National Security Directive of the beginning of the year and reaffirms most of the latter's major goals.
It highlights these strategic components for the intensified application of military deployments in the Arctic region:
Strategy, policy, mission and plans
Operations and training
Investments in weapons, platforms, sensors, command, control. communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C41SR) installations, and facilities
Strategic communications and outreach
In another section of the document these are the four operations mentioned first:
Undersea Warfare
Expeditionary Warfare
Strike Warfare
Strategic Sealift
The Navy Arctic Roadmap also states that "the naval services must be prepared to prevent or limit regional conflict when required," giving particular emphasis to strategic deterrence and ballistic missile defense. [11]
A reiteration of the priorities itemized in the National Security Presidential Directive 66 ten months earlier.
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