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Canada plans anti-sub exercises in Arctic
By Randy Boswell, Canwest News ServiceAugust 7, 2009 2:01 PM
Link:
http://www.canada.com/news/Canada+plans+anti+exercises+Arctic/1870642/story.html
Caption Under Photo on News Link:
HMCS Fredericton at anchor in Frobisher Bay near the city of Iqaluit, Nunavut. The Canadian military will conduct 'anti-submarine warfare' exercises during its annual Arctic sovereignty operation, which begins this week near Baffin Island.
News Story:
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 begins 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."
Details about the Canadian Forces' three-week "Nanook 09" operation were released Friday at a Halifax press conference hosted by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who last week voiced concerns about a planned Russian paratrooper drop at the North Pole, scheduled for next spring to mark the anniversary of a Cold War parachute jump by two Soviet scientists.
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 ship traffic, possible terrorist activity, an oil exploration boom, search-and-rescue gaps and environmental risks — have heightened global interest in the polar realm, and prompted some experts to warn that military tensions could rise in the region despite genuine, multilateral efforts to avoid conflict.
Nanook 09 is the main element in a three-pronged Arctic training schedule this summer for the Canadian Forces that includes Operation Nunakput in the Western Arctic and Operation Nunalivut amid the remote islands of the High Arctic.
The Baffin Island exercises, which run through Aug. 28, will coincide with a visit to Iqaluit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is expected to visit a Canadian warship and submarine during his Aug. 17-21 tour of the North.
By Randy Boswell, Canwest News ServiceAugust 7, 2009 2:01 PM
Link:
http://www.canada.com/news/Canada+plans+anti+exercises+Arctic/1870642/story.html
Caption Under Photo on News Link:
HMCS Fredericton at anchor in Frobisher Bay near the city of Iqaluit, Nunavut. The Canadian military will conduct 'anti-submarine warfare' exercises during its annual Arctic sovereignty operation, which begins this week near Baffin Island.
News Story:
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 begins 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."
Details about the Canadian Forces' three-week "Nanook 09" operation were released Friday at a Halifax press conference hosted by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who last week voiced concerns about a planned Russian paratrooper drop at the North Pole, scheduled for next spring to mark the anniversary of a Cold War parachute jump by two Soviet scientists.
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 ship traffic, possible terrorist activity, an oil exploration boom, search-and-rescue gaps and environmental risks — have heightened global interest in the polar realm, and prompted some experts to warn that military tensions could rise in the region despite genuine, multilateral efforts to avoid conflict.
Nanook 09 is the main element in a three-pronged Arctic training schedule this summer for the Canadian Forces that includes Operation Nunakput in the Western Arctic and Operation Nunalivut amid the remote islands of the High Arctic.
The Baffin Island exercises, which run through Aug. 28, will coincide with a visit to Iqaluit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is expected to visit a Canadian warship and submarine during his Aug. 17-21 tour of the North.