The isolated Svalbard peninsula, about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, has seen increased presence by the Norwegian military in recent years. AFP/GETTY IMAGES
THE WATCH STAFF
A visit from a high-ranking Norwegian military commander to a demilitarized Arctic peninsula provides a glimpse of the Nordic country’s changing defensive posture after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lt. Gen. Yngve Odlo, chief of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, the operational command center of the Norwegian Armed Forces, arrived in the Svalbard peninsula on the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel KV Svalbard on September 21, 2023.
The peninsula has been demilitarized by treaty since the 1920s, but Russian interest in the area has been longstanding. The former Soviet Union proposed a joint Norway-Soviet rule for the peninsula after the end of World War II, which Norway rejected before joining NATO in 1947.
Although Norway is banned from creating military installations on Svalbard, the Norwegian Coast Guard has made regular visits.
A Norwegian Coast Guard vessel has made annual visits to Svalbard for the past several years, and cooperation between civilian local authorities and the Norwegian military has strengthened, reports The Barents Observer newspaper.
“It is very far from the Norwegian mainland to Svalbard [and] there are some critical vulnerabilities that we need to have in mind and discuss,” Odlo said shortly after his arrival at Longyearbyen, the peninsula’s largest settlement.
As the Arctic warms, the region becomes more accessible to economic activity, making Svalbard more strategically important, Odlo said.
“It is important to be aware of critical vulnerabilities and take the necessary measures,” Odlo said, according to the Observer. “Like in the rest of our national defense system, civilian and military components must be able to smoothly interact, in peace, crisis and war,” he explained.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only increased the stakes in Svalbard, Odlo said.
“We are experiencing challenging times, and it is important that civilian and military resources interact to protect our values,” Odlo said. “Svalbard has some characteristics that makes joint situational understanding essential.”
Odlo also visited Svalbard in 2022. The peninsula’s governor, Lars Fause, said the Norwegian military’s presence is crucial.
“I am very content with our progress. … We have discussed what needs to be done and the ways the Norwegian Armed Forces can assist within the frames of their authorities,” Fause told the Observer. “We are, for example, completely dependent on the Coast Guard with regard to inspection, control and preparedness. And we can get military assistance through a civilian relief authority granted to local police.”
Fause said the instability in Europe because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made Norway’s protection and presence in the Svalbard peninsula even more important.
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