🇺🇸 🇨🇳 🇷🇺 The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced the release of the 2024 Arctic Strategy‼️
❄️ “The United States Arctic region is critically important to the defense of our homeland, the defense of U.S. national sovereignty, and the preservation of our defense treaty commitments,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. “Our Arctic Strategy guides the department’s efforts to ensure the Arctic remains a secure and stable region.”
❄️ The DoD’s 2024 Arctic Strategy outlines the steps the DoD will take, in coordination with our allies and partners, to preserve the Arctic as a secure and stable region, where the United States defends its homeland and protects our vital national interests. It builds on guidance set forth in the 2022 National Security Strategy and the 2022 National Defense Strategy, and is part of the DoD’s efforts to implement the 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic.
❄️ “This strategy is very action-oriented, distinguishing it from previous Arctic strategies,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arctic and Global Resilience Iris Ferguson. “We are unpacking where we need to sustain our investments, particularly in critical capabilities. What do we need to see? How do we communicate? Do we have the right equipment to operate in the region? My office exists to protect these capabilities, which are essential to the successful implementation of our strategy.”
❄️ The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes, both strategically and physically. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), which remains a challenge to DoD deterrence, seeks increasing access and influence in the Arctic, while Russia continues to pose an acute threat in the region despite its losses in Ukraine. These two competitors are increasingly cooperating in the Arctic, impacting the security of the United States, as well as our allies and partners. Additionally, Finland and Sweden’s historic decision to join NATO brings like-minded Arctic states into the NATO alliance, offering new opportunities for cooperation and partnership. All of this is underscored by the impact of climate change on the Arctic, which is warming at least three times faster than the rest of the world, opening up the region to more human activity.
❄️ To address this dynamic security environment, the DoD is employing a “watch and respond” approach in the Arctic, supported by strong regional expertise collaboration with high-capacity allies and partners, and backed by the deterrent power of the DoD to project forces into the Arctic in a unified military globally at the time and place of our choosing. The DoD’s execution of this approach falls into three main lines of effort:
- The DoD will enhance its campaign activities in the Arctic, particularly in reconnaissance, communication, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
- The DoD will collaborate with allies and partners to maintain defense and deterrence in the Arctic, build interoperability, and better understand how to operate in the region.
- The DoD will exercise calibrated presence in the Arctic, conducting regular training in the region, and carrying out routine operations to maintain deterrence and defense.
🐻❄️ PDF: You can read the full strategy on the DoD website here.
