Månad: februari 2023

There are high expectations for Norway’s takeover of the Arctic Council on the 11th of May. Researchers within the Arctic field believe that Norway is well-equipped for the complex task precisely because of its long-term relationship with Russia, which is locked out of the council despite holding the chairmanship for the past year.

”Our first priority is conserving the Arctic Council as the most important multilateral forum for Arctic issues. The first step to ensure a neat transition of leadership,” says Norwegian MFA Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor)  when High North News meets her in Tromsø during the Arctic Frontiers conference.

”You say that the Arctic Council will remain also after Norway takes over the chairmanship. How will Norway implement Russia in the council?”

”We have some contact with Russia on an official level. That has continued also after we severed the political contact. And we will continue to do so also in this situation,” says the MFA.

Huitfeldt says that it is important to maintain some contact with Russia to minimize the risk of misunderstandings and intentional escalation of conflict in the Arctic:

”Russia is and will remain our neighbor. There are high expectations for the Norwegian chairmanship,” says Huitfeldt. Läs artikel

There is currently high military training activity at Setermoen in Troms, Northern Norway. Forces from the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have already arrived to conduct winter training and preparations for the largest military exercise in Norway this year.

Right now, about 750 soldiers from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) are in place, says Master Sergeant Rolf Ytterstad, the spokesman for the Norwegian Army, to High North News. Ytterstad explains that the soldiers train for operations in cold weather conditions. Both the US soldiers and the other allied units in place are also specifically preparing for the Joint Viking 23 winter exercise, which begins in early March. […]

According to Ytterstad, about 800 soldiers from the Netherlands Marine Corps will participate in the Joint Viking. 800 Royal Marines from the UK as well as 150 soldiers from the US Army will also take part in the exercise. […]

According to the Norwegian Armed Forces, more than 10,000 Norwegian and allied soldiers will train to defend Norway. The main activity will take place in Troms in the period 4–16 March 2023. In addition, there will be Norwegian and allied training, courses, and transport in Norway in January and February.

”NATO is the foundation of Norway’s defense. In order to be able to defend Norway, our allies must exercise deploying to Norway. They must also know how to operate along with Norwegian forces in a harsh winter climate,” writes the Armed Forces. Läs artikel

[…] Leading Nato powers have pledged to send main battle tanks to bolster Ukraine’s forces against any breakthrough by any new Russian offensive this spring, and to begin to mount a concerted, mobile counter-attack. Altogether, the Ukraine command expects to get up to 300 main battle tanks from Nato and other allies. […]

In the refined ratiocinations and calculations of diplomacy this has a certain logic. But in terms of military realism, it is dangerous sophistry. It risks depriving Ukraine’s commander of essential tools if they are to stay in the fight, to survive, let alone contemplate winning.

Look closely and you begin to see the divisions and cracks in the alliance. Chancellor Scholz of Germany urges restraint, suggesting Berlin opens up a line of negotiation with Moscow. President Erdogan of Turkey claims the same role for himself, as do the Pentagon and State in Washington. Where does President Zelensky come in? Are they planning to ignore him as Trump and Biden ignored Ashraf Ghani, the elected president of Afghanistan, when their botched diplomacy let the Taliban into Kabul? Läs artikel

Turkiets president Recep Tayyip Erdogan gick under onsdagen ut med ett nytt krav för att släppa in Sverige i Nato.

– Min heliga bok, Koranen, brändes och förstördes. Så länge ni tillåter det här kommer vi inte säga ja till ert inträde i Nato, sa Erdogan under ett möte i parlamentet och möttes av stående ovationer och applåder.

Nu svarar statsminister Ulf Kristersson och säger att det nya kravet inte förändrar processen.

– Mitt svar är att vi har ett trepartsavtal med Sverige, Finland och Turkiet. Det är det som i grund och botten gäller mellan våra länder. Där regleras ingenting som har med yttrandefrihet eller religion att göra. Det är noga. Sen tycker jag man har lätt att förstå ilskan. Jag sa flera gånger att det som är lagligt inte alltid måste vara lämpligt, än mindre respektfullt. Jag har förståelse för att de i det här fallet är rätt upprörda när man har låtsasavrättningar av dockor och bränner Koranen utanför turkiska ambassaden. Men det reglerar inte vår överenskommelse med Turkiet. […]

I Finland är det förbjudet att elda koraner – borde Sverige ta efter och förbjuda det?

– Nej, det är inte aktuellt och det finns inga sådana diskussioner i Sverige om att ändra vår yttrandefrihetslagstiftning. Det däremot Finland visar, är att olika länder som är fullt demokratiska och har väldigt bred yttrandefrihet, kan ändå tillämpa den på olika sätt. Men det finns ingen i Sverige nu som föreslår att vi ska ändra vår lagstiftning.

Varför är det viktigt att få elda en Koran?

– Vi har en väldigt bred definition av yttrandefriheten i Sverige. Den tror jag totalt sett har varit väldigt bra i Sverige. Men den kräver också att man tar lite ansvar. Det handlar ju om att saker och ting som kan uppfattas på ett helt annat sätt i andra länder. Då finns det goda skäl att fundera kring hur vi agerar. Läs artikel

Beijing urged NATO on Wednesday not to clamor about the ”China threat” and instigate regional confrontation, as the Western military alliance’s chief sought to expand the bloc’s sphere of influence in Asia.

”The Asia-Pacific is not a battlefield for geopolitical competition and bloc confrontation, and the Cold War mentality is not welcome in the region,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a daily news conference.

The remarks came as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg concluded a four-day trip to South Korea and Japan, during which he hyped up the so-called China threat and Cold War mentality while calling Seoul and Tokyo to increase armaments and step into the Russia-Ukraine conflict. […]

Stoltenberg’s trip is not just unwelcomed in Asia, but also in Europe.

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic criticized the visit on Monday. ”I see that the chief of NATO is in South Korea and Japan,” he said. ”He does not represent me and my country there. It is not a NATO area, but it is in the neighborhood of China. It has nothing to do with Croatia.”

Shigeki Nagayama, a law professor at Tokai University in Japan, said the Japanese government’s welcoming of NATO’s involvement in the Asia-Pacific region is to enhance its own defense capability, and will only bring new factors of instability to the Asia-Pacific.

Yoichi Komori, an emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo, said the United States and NATO are using Japan as a shield in case of conflict.

”That’s what the US and NATO want,” Komori said. ”That’s very dangerous for Japan to give full play to its self-defense forces in East Asia, which is also contrary to Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan. We, as the people, must not allow it.” Läs artikel

Mellan den 24 april och 11 maj under våren ska över 26 000 soldater från armén, marinen, flygvapnet, och hemvärnet samt militära enheter från ytterligare 14 länder delta i Försvarsmaktens övning. Även civila myndigheter deltar under övningen. Försvarsmakten menar att det är en viktig del och att parterna måste fungera tillsammans om Sverige skulle angripas.

Övningen har döpts till Aurora 23 och är en av de största i Sverige på många år, enligt Försvarsmakten.

”Syftet med Aurora 23 är att höja Försvarsmaktens samlade förmåga att möta ett väpnat angrepp mot Sverige och att tillsammans med andra kunna bidra till stabilitet i närområdet”, säger överstelöjtnant Henrik Larsson, som är planeringschef för övningen, i ett uttalande på myndighetens hemsida. […]

Under övningen kommer soldaterna att få träna på beredskapshöjning, mobilisering, värdlandsstöd, anfall på marken, i luften och till sjöss.

”Under Aurora 23 får vi tillfälle att öva hela kedjan från beredskapshöjning med mobilisering till att ta emot tredje part för värdlandsstöd, och slutligen genomföra offensiva anfall på marken, i luften och till sjöss. Det vi kommer att lära oss är av högsta vikt kopplat till försvaret av Sverige”, berättar Henrik Larsson. Läs artikel

Läs även Försvarsmaktens information om övningen.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the Western military alliance will continue to strengthen its partnership with Japan, adding that “our security is closely interconnected” as Russia’s war on Ukraine raises global dangers.

Arriving in Tokyo from South Korea on Monday where he had urged Seoul to increase its military support for Ukraine, Stoltenberg said his trip was aimed at strengthening relations between NATO and “our highly valued partner” Japan. […]

Already a close ally of the United States, Japan has in recent years expanded its military ties with other Indo-Pacific nations as well as the United Kingdom, Europe and NATO. Japan was also quick to join the US-led economic sanctions against Russia, and the country has also provided humanitarian aid and non-combative defence equipment for the Ukrainians. […]

North Korea has condemned Stoltenberg’s visits to South Korea and Japan, saying NATO was trying to put its “military boots in the region” and attempting to pressure the US’s Asian allies into providing weapons to Kyiv. Läs artikel

Turkiet öppnar för att acceptera Finland i Nato, det säger president Erdogan enligt AFP. Beskedet kom under ett tal i staden Bilecik på söndagskvällen svensk tid. Enligt presidenten är det inte aktuellt för Sverige att gå med i Nato innan regeringen beslutar om utlämning av ”de terrorister” som Turkiet vill ha utlämnade.

– De gör sig själva till åtlöje. Vi kan ge ett annat budskap om Finland om det behövs. Sverige kommer att bli chockat, sa Erdogan i sitt tal enligt nyhetsbyrån CNN Turk. Läs artikel

[…] Regarding dispersal the Finnish Air Force did not abandon the concept after the end of the Cold War. In the current geopolitical and military situation Finland has a robust and resilient approach to passive air defence. The Finnish basing system is built around a hub-and-spokes system with aircraft, in times of crisis, dispersing to secondary bases that include both civilian airports and road bases. To be able to support these deployments, road convoys with dedicated trucks bring the ground equipment needed, including fuel, munitions, spares, and, in the case of road bases, mobile control towers. To ensure enough personnel to maintain this spread-out organization and to protect these numerous smaller bases, the Finnish Air Force relies heavily on conscripts to beef up both the ground crews as well as to set up wartime base protection units which can deploy with the road convoys to protect the satellite bases. […]

The purpose with the Swedish Air Force basing concept is to generate a higher number of effective sorties than the enemy. The key attributes in the Swedish base operations concept are movement and dispersion. The system is more or less the same as in Finland even though it has been greatly reduced after the Cold War where it had more than 100 different possible runways spread around the country. The ultimate goal in the Swedish approach is to remain as mobile as possible, temporarily open up airfields and then move on to the next base. Therefore, always operate inside the enemy’s decision-making loop, challenge their tactical intelligence and degrade the opponent’s situational awareness. Sweden has a few mountain hangars to protect the aircraft before they disperse to the bases in wartime. The current Swedish Air Force lacks a GBAD system to complement dispersal. Läs artikel

Finland has the patience to wait for its accession to Nato in part due to the security guarantees it received from several countries at the beginning of what has become an almost nine-month process, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (Greens).

“We still hope that we’ll be members by the summit in Vilnius [Lithuania in July], even though we can’t influence decision-making in Hungary or Turkey,” he stated to reporters in Helsinki on Monday.

Congress will block a major weapons deal and could levy new sanctions on Turkey if the country follows through on threats to block Sweden from joining NATO, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

“There’s no scenario where the F-16 sale goes through without ratification by Turkey [of Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids],” Van Hollen said at an Al-Monitor event in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

Citing Turkey’s unwillingness to levy sanctions against Russia and its threats to invade northeast Syria, the lawmaker said Ankara is “for the most part not a faithful ally.”

The news comes as the Biden administration is preparing to notify Congress of its intent to conclude a $20 billion deal to supply Turkey with F-16 fighter jets. The controversial sale has become more complicated since last week, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to block Sweden from entering NATO after a protestor in Stockholm burned a Quran.

Once they receive notification, lawmakers will have a month to pass a resolution of disapproval in order to block the sale. Van Hollen predicted that President Joe Biden would not attempt to veto such a bill if Congress took a stand against the deal. Läs artikel