Canada: Military plans anti-sub exercises in Arctic

Just a month after two nuclear-powered Russian subs cracked through sea ice near the North Pole to test-fire two long-range missiles, the Canadian military will conduct “anti-submarine warfare” exercises during its annual Arctic sovereignty operation, which began this week near Baffin Island.

The massive training mission, involving some 700 personnel from the Canadian Forces and a host of federal and territorial agencies, will also feature a simulated security emergency involving a “suspected downed unmanned aerial vehicle.”
While planning for Nanook 09 has been going on for months, the recent Russian missile tests and the planned bolstering of northern military might among all five polar nations gives this year’s war-games exercise in Nunavut an added sense of real-world currency.

Canada, Russia, the U.S., Norway and Denmark — the only five countries with Arctic Ocean coastlines — have all agreed to peacefully sort out looming seabed boundary disputes under a UN treaty. But a host of potential challenges and opportunities related to the melting of the Arctic ice cover — including increased commercial shipping, possible terrorist activity, an oil exploration boom, search-and-rescue gaps and environmental risks — have heightened global interest in the polar realm.

That’s also prompted some experts to warn that military tensions could rise in the region despite genuine, multilateral efforts to avoid conflict.

Windsor Star