The United States and Canada
The United States and Canada are planning to modernize a network of defense satellites and radar in the Arctic, in an effort to “counter the growing military presence in the region of Russia and China.”
US President Joe Biden asked, during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, to increase Canada’s defense spending, including the upgrade of the North American Air Defense Command known as “NORAD”.
The “NORAD” was an essential part of the US and Canadian deterrence strategy for the Cold War against the former Soviet Union, and the surveillance system consisted of satellites, ground radar and air force bases mostly located in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. The monitoring system was designed to give military allies notice of an imminent attack. from the north.
The newspaper pointed out that the system that was once “modern” has become outdated, as Michael Dawson, who worked as a Canadian political advisor to command “NORAD” in Colorado, said, “The new missiles deployed by Russia and China can travel at more than five times the speed of sound.” And it flies much farther than its predecessors, which may overwhelm the current surveillance network, “according to the American Wall Street Journal.
Current and former military officials say the melting of the polar ice sheet leaves the Arctic Ocean clear of ice for longer periods, creating new vulnerabilities for the United States and Canada.
“The Arctic is no longer a fortress wall, and our oceans are no longer protective trenches,” said retired US General Terence Ochugensi during his testimony last March before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
President Biden referred to “Norad” in his public statements after the Tuesday meeting, which is the first bilateral meeting between Biden with a foreign leader since his election, where he said that the two countries agreed to modernize the system that is jointly controlled by the two governments.
Biden also said he expects NATO members, including Canada, to spend at least 2% of their economic output on defense, as indicated in the 2014 pledge made by members of the transatlantic alliance. 1.5%, according to the latest NATO figures. “
The US State Department listed the defense system as one of the priorities for bilateral relations between the United States and Canada, before a meeting between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Trudeau, along with other senior officials.
Source: “The Wall Street Journal”
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