Europeans step up submarine hunting in the North
Norway’s Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik says ‘a burden-sharing arrangement’ with Germany and the UK related to submarine hunting in the north is coming into place.
In an interview with the National Defense Magazine, the Norwegian defence minister confirms that the three countries have agreed to enhance cooperation in submarine hunting in the High North.
The ‘burden-sharing arrangement’ is a joint initiative by Norway, Germany and the UK, Tore O. Sandvik told the news media during the Munich Security Conference last week.
It is not clear whether the initiative implies a reduced American naval presence in the region.
According to Sandvik, the three countries will "relieve the US of responsibilities."
"We believe that submarine hunting is one of the areas where we can relieve the Americans more. So we will do more in line with what is stated in the defence plan, with a new fleet plan and such things," the minister told the National Defense Magazine.
"This means that we are relieving the US of responsibilities that it has taken on in areas where Europe should have taken greater responsibility, and one of those areas is submarine hunting, where we can do more together in Europe. So now we have taken this initiative together with Germany and the UK," Sandvik elaborated.
Reportedly, also France is ready to join the initiative. Several more countries are expected to follow suit.
The new initiative comes as Norway significantly steps up defence cooperation with European allies, and especially the UK and Germany.
On February 14 Tore O. Sandvik and his German colleague Boris Pistorius signed a historic agreement that ‘covers collaboration across all domains.’
The cooperation, which is branded as the Hansa Arrangement, includes a high focus on maritime security in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.
"This is a natural development in an evolving security landscape. We aim to establish a framework that encompasses the full scope of bilateral defence cooperation between Norway and Germany. Our countries stand united in a time of heightened uncertainty in Europe, sharing security interests, a solid industrial partnership, and a joint responsibility to strengthen NATO and European security," Sandvik said in a statement.
Joint submarine operations are among the priorities. Norway has ordered six submarines from the German Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.
The countries are also collaborating on the development of next-generation long-range maritime missiles (3SM).
