However, Arctic Sentry does not mean that the alliance will immediately increase its military presence in the Arctic.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that initially it will be about NATO coordinating the military exercises that various NATO countries already conduct regularly in the region. For example, Norway's Cold Response, in which several NATO countries participate, and Denmark's Arctic Endurance in Greenland.
NATO will also coordinate member countries' monitoring of the Arctic.
We will bring everything we do in NATO under one command, Rutte says.
Strengthening NATO
According to him, the coordination will increase NATO's effectiveness in the Arctic and knowledge of the region.
Sweden's Minister of Defense Pål Jonson also points out that Arctic Sentry will give the alliance a better shared situational picture of the region.
NATO has similar operations in the Baltic Sea, Baltic Sentry (sentry post in Swedish), and along Eastern Europe's border with Russia, Eastern Sentry.
Jonson points out that Sweden is one of seven countries in the alliance that is also an Arctic country.
We have the skills to contribute, Jonson says.
Jonson does not want to go into what Sweden could contribute, but points out that work is underway within NATO to review what the needs are.
Increased interest
Sweden already has primary responsibility for the alliance's forward land forces in northern Finland and carries out air patrols for NATO from Iceland.
The reason for the launch of Arctic Sentry is that the region is opening up new shipping lanes and economic opportunities due to melting ice.
We have seen over time that Russia has reoccupied many parts of its military infrastructure in the Arctic area, and we see that China has operations there, especially with various types of research vessels.
As these countries increase their presence, it is natural that NATO play a deeper role.
However, NATO's increased involvement in the Arctic can also be seen as a signal to US President Donald Trump, who has criticized Denmark for not taking Greenland's defense seriously and has previously threatened to take over Greenland.
