UK Arctic defence 'on thin ice,' committee claims

摘要

Published in July 2018, the report, On Thin Ice: UK Defence in the Arctic, Twelfth Report of Session 2017-19, summarises evidence taken by the House of Commons Defence Committee over a number of sessions on the UK's capability to conduct military operations in the Arctic and far north.The report makes clear that capability routinely available to the UK during the Cold War has declined or lapsed altogether, but that it urgently needs to be recovered in the face of Russia's increasingly assertive military posture in the region.The committee highlighted the fact that changes taking place in the natural environment in the Arctic and High North are driving a change in the security environment. As the ice recedes and the Arctic becomes more accessible to navigation and the exploitation of its extensive natural resources, a region that has been characterised by low tension and multi-lateral co-operation has in recent years begun to see an increase in military activity.