An airman participates in survival training on the coast of the Arctic Ocean on Jan. 13, 2022. The Arctic region is the new front line for competition with Russia and China, who are coordinating their efforts in the High North for nefarious purposes, according to the top American general in Europe. (Zade Vadnais/U.S. Air Force)
STUTTGART, Germany — The Arctic is rapidly becoming a front line for NATO competition with Russia and China, as adversaries expand their presence in the High North and probe alliance defenses, the top American general in Europe said over the weekend.
Russian and Chinese naval vessels are conducting more frequent joint patrols in Arctic waters, and Chinese icebreakers and research ships have expanded their operations in the region for military advantage, U.S. European Command’s Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said Sunday at a security conference in Sweden.
“It’s not for peaceful purposes,” said Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe. “They’re not studying the seals and the polar bears.
They’re out there doing bathymetric surveys and trying to figure out how they can counter NATO capabilities on and under the sea. So that’s something that could grow very quickly, and we need to be mindful of it and ready for it.”
Grynkewich’s comments come as the Arctic emerges as a point of contention between the United States and its allies in Europe.
Last week, President Donald Trump renewed his push for the United States to take possession of Greenland, an autonomous territory of ally Denmark.
The Trump administration hasn’t ruled out the possibility of using military force to take control of the territory, which Trump says is needed for national security reasons.
Trump has said his preference is for the U.S. to reach a deal on transferring control of the island to Washington.
“If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said Friday without elaborating on what the “hard way” might entail.
So far, officials in Greenland and Denmark have balked at the idea of a deal. And the notion of launching a military offensive on a NATO ally has been blasted by numerous U.S. elected officials, including several influential Republican senators.
Other European allies, including Germany and France, have expressed political backing for Greenland’s right to determine its own future.
Grynkewich sidestepped the issue on Sunday when asked about Trump’s push for Greenland.
“I won’t comment on the political dimensions of recent rhetoric. It’s not my place to do that as a military officer,” he said.
Instead, he pointed to ongoing discussions in NATO’s highest political body, the North Atlantic Council, saying allies are involved in “healthy dialogue” there on thorny issues.
Allies must deal with adversaries including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that are increasingly aligning their efforts in ways that directly challenge the West, Grynkewich said.
Russia continues to test advanced military systems in the Barents Sea, while “shadow fleets” of oil tankers linked to Russia, Iran and Venezuela help finance Moscow’s war effort and pose growing risks to undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in the Baltic and Arctic regions, he said.
In response, NATO has taken steps to strengthen deterrence across northern Europe, Grynkewich said.
He cited new operations aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure and improving air and missile defense integration along its eastern flank.
Grynkewich said that for now, he does not believe that NATO territory is under immediate threat from Russia, partly because the war in Ukraine is occupying the vast majority of the Kremlin’s forces.
Also, Russia is “aware of the incredible power of the alliance,” he said, adding that “Russia knows that it cannot afford to take us on.”
