Navy Secretary: US Plans Patrols Near Russian Arctic Bases
"It’s sort of the same situation in the South China Sea that, when we look at freedom of navigation operations and the ability to operate in international waters, the United States claims the right to be able to do that," SecNav Kenneth Braithwaite said.
By Paul McLeary on January 05, 2021 at 7:44 PM
USS Connecticut, USS Hartford, and HMS Trenchant during the multinational maritime Ice Exercise (ICEX) in the Arctic.
WASHINGTON: The Navy will start regularly sailing near Russian land claims in the increasingly ice-free Arctic, challenging Moscow’s push in the High North, Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite said today.
“You will see the Navy operating again in a more permanent manner above the Arctic Circle,†Braithwaite told reporters in what is likely his last interview before the Biden administration takes over on Jan. 20.
The secretary was rolling out the Navy’s new Arctic Strategy paper, which followed last month’s release of a “Tri-Service†strategy last month along with the Marines and Coast Guard, which promised that US ships will “adopt a more assertive posture in our day-to-day operations†around the globe as a check against Chinese and Russian adventurism.
https://breakingdefense.com/2021/01/navy-secretary-us-patrols-near-russian-arctic-bases/
