This document sets out Defence’s approach to the Arctic, in
support of the UK Government Arctic Policy Framework.
The UK’s Defence
Contribution in the High North
Details
As the 2021 Defence Command Paper makes clear, the High North and
maintaining security in the defence of the North Atlantic remains
of great importance to the UK. The MOD will continue to ensure
that it remains capable of protecting the UK’s interests as the
region opens up in the coming years.
The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North lays out the
Defence objectives that support wider UK aims, as outlined most
recently in the 2018 Arctic Policy
Framework, Beyond the Ice. The main commitments include:
- Protecting our Critical National Infrastructure and our other
national interests, and those of our Allies and partners.
- Ensuring our freedom to navigate and operate across the wider
region.
- Reinforcing the rules-based international system,
particularly UNCLOS.
- Contesting malign and destabilising behaviours.
To deliver these objectives, we will:
- Improve our understanding of the region, how it is changing,
and the activities of state and non-state actors within it.
- Work with regional Allies and partners, including through
NATO, the Northern Group, and the Joint Expeditionary Force,
aligning policy, activity, and capability where possible and
across all domains.
- Maintain a coherent Defence posture, presence, and profile in
the region, including training, partnering, and operating from
and in the Arctic.
- Develop sustainable, modernised, and proportionate Defence
capability for the region, including through investment in
Research and Development.
The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North will guide
Defence efforts over a 10-year period, including long-term
capability decisions. While its focus is on the High North, it
notes that the region is contiguous with the North Atlantic and
cannot be isolated from UK interests in adjacent regions,
including Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region, and the rest
of the world.
