Canada wants 12 new submarines to bolster Arctic defence as NATO eyes Russian, Chinese intervention

Canada plans to acquire a dozen new submarines capable of traveling under sea ice as part of efforts to bolster the defence of the country’s vast Arctic coastal region, the Canadian Defence Department announced last week.

“A larger, modernized submarine fleet will help us detect and deter threats on all three coasts and protect Canadians and Canadian interests,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week at the Kyoto treaty signing ceremony. NATO Summit in Washington.

Climate change has accelerated the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, slowly opening new shipping routes that Western powers fear their adversaries will use for economic and military gain.

The Northern Sea Route could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and Asia by 2050, the Canadian Department of National Defence said in a recent statement.

The Canadian military noted “an increasing number of Chinese dual-use research vessels and surveillance platforms collecting data on Canada’s North,” in addition to increased Russian activity in the Arctic region.

China has quickly expanded its own submarine fleetand Russian submarines continue to gather intelligence in Arctic waters, the Defense Ministry said.

As CBS News reported reportedRussia has stepped up its military operations in the Arctic Circle, including testing advanced ballistic missiles. hypersonic missilesA few years ago, a Russian LNG carrier completed a experimental round trip along the Northern Sea Route, which connects Western Europe and the Atlantic Ocean to East Asia.

“They are really looking forward to developing this Northern Sea Route,” Dmitry Gorenburg, a senior researcher at the Center for Naval Analysis, told CBS News. He added that Russia is considering using the route, which runs through Russia’s exclusive economic zone, as an alternative to the southern routes through the Suez or Panama Canals. The Arctic route can cut transit times by up to 20 days.

Currently, the Northern Sea Route is only navigable for a limited period each year, during ice-free periods. But with the polar ice caps melting, some estimates suggest the route could become entirely ice-free in less than two decades.

Canada’s updated national defence policy, released in April, takes these impending changes into account and details the country’s plans to increase its military presence in the Arctic to mitigate potential threats.

Canada’s new submarines will be used to “detect, track, deter and, if necessary, defeat adversaries” in the country’s waters, the Defence Department said in a statement.

“This new fleet will enable Canada to protect its sovereignty in a changing world and make valuable, high-level contributions to the security of our NATO partners and allies,” Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said in the statement.

Canadian defence policy notes that NATO is paying increasing attention to Russia’s ability to project force from its Arctic territory into the North Atlantic.

Russia’s growing presence in the Arctic will have an indirect impact on U.S. national security, Gorenburg says.

“This affects the security of the United States largely because of the potential threats to NATO and the alliance structure,” he said, noting a hypothetical Russian attack on Alliance allies Finland or Norway as potential examples of what could draw Washington into conflict.

This week, Canada, the United States and Finland announced a trilateral partnership “to continue to build best-in-class Arctic and polar icebreakers and other Arctic and polar capabilities in each of our respective countries,” saying the pact aimed to “provide the capacity for like-minded nations to uphold international rules, norms and standards to maintain peace and stability in the Arctic and Antarctic regions for generations to come.”

The Canadian government has said it is already discussing its needs with manufacturers and also plans over the next decade to modernize its existing fleet of four submarines, purchased from the United Kingdom in 1998.

Canada is currently not meeting NATO’s target of 2% of GDP for defence investment. Blair has said, however, that the country plans to reach that goal by 2032, and Canada’s defence policy aims to increase defence investment to 1.4% of GDP by 2025.

CBS News visual data journalist Taylor Johnston contributed to this report.