The US and Canada should turn to Japan and South Korea, two pivotal treaty allies with strategic interests and unique capabilities that could bolster Arctic security, according to analysts Chan Mo Ku and Jinwan Park.
By
Paul McLeary on December 17, 2020 at 12:48 PM
A Canadian Coast Guard vessel rendezvous with US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy (foreground) in the Arctic.
WASHINGTON: The defense policy bill sitting on President Trump’s desk would fund new icebreakers the Coast Guard desperately needs, and give Arctic strategy a bigger seat at the decision-making table at the Pentagon.
The 2021 NDAA, passed by the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities last week, authorizes money for six icebreakers, three more than originally planned, which would replace the two currently in service one of which is languishing in port after a devastating fire in August left it in need of a new engine.