The sea is emerging in the Arctic. Glaciers are receding. Permafrost is melting. Simultaneously, cruise ships are sailing virgin routes. Corporations are exploring untapped resources. Thrill-seekers are testing new limits. Sea ice decline is having a cascading impact on the marine ecosystem and enticing increased maritime activity. Despite the strategic tension that exists among major powers today, their coast guards are working apolitically to manage the irreversible changes taking place in the Arctic. The coast guards of Russia and the United States have embodied the transcendent importance of Arctic cooperation.
The thawing of tensions in the Arctic is drawing increased attention and admiration. In January, sixty members, from over 20 countries, of the University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security signed a letter nominating the Arctic Council for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The newly-minted Arctic Coast Guard Forum (Forum) was featured in the nomination because it “remarkably brought all eight states together to address emergency maritime response and combined operations in the Arctic at a time when all other military and defense cooperation was suspended.”
In the Forum, the eight Arctic states are collaborating to address the consequences of an emerging ocean. The Forum’s goal is to ensure safe, secure, and environmentally-responsible maritime activity. It supports the implementation of Arctic Council agreements while independently developing strategies focused on polar operations. The Forum was conceived in 2014 at a meeting of coast guard leadership from seven of the eight Arctic States. Russia was not invited.
At the close of that first meeting in Canada, it was time for the seven countries to gain consensus on their work. Due to the annexation of Crimea, however, the Russian coast guard had not been allowed to participate. Without Russia in the room, momentum stalled. The other Arctic states would not offer their consensus, and rightfully so. Real progress in the Arctic hinges on strong cooperation among all Arctic states. At the outset, the Forum’s future was in jeopardy.
One year later, despite the U.S. shortage of resources in the Arctic, its global leadership role and convening power still mattered. A lot. So, the U.S. Coast Guard opened the door to Russia’s participation and hosted the Forum’s first official high-level meeting. All eight Arctic states were present. The tension was palpable, however, and one questioned lingered, were the Arctic States truly committed? The answer came quickly. During opening remarks, the head of delegation from Denmark, Colonel Peter H. Boysen, stated “We need to stop talking, and start walking.” A few minutes later, Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, doubled down by saying the Arctic States needed to start “running” toward greater operational cooperation. Everyone agreed. An hour later, with the signing of a joint statement, the Arctic Coast Guard Forum was born.
The Forum was a signature achievement for the United States during its chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2015 to 2017. In only two years, the Forum created operational guidelines and strategic doctrine to guide international cooperation in the Arctic. It also convened an at-sea exercise in the Denmark Strait near Iceland. Coast guards understand that to meet our most difficult challenges—in the Arctic and elsewhere—nations must work together at all levels. This natural tendency for coast guards to collaborate across borders now happens more quickly and easily in the Arctic due to the Forum.
Today, there are many Arctic-related organizations which focus on matters ranging from economics to science to policy. Only one brings together the Arctic States’ coast guards, ship captains and operators—with decades of maritime experience in polar regions—to protect the Arctic, its resources and its people. Within the Arctic Coast Guard Forum, U.S. and Russia coast guards are proving that in matters of existential global importance, tactical cooperation transcends strategic confrontation.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft joins leaders representing all eight coast guard agencies of the Arctic nations to sign a Joint Statement officially establishing the Arctic Coast Guard Forum at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., Oct. 30, 2015. The Arctic Coast Guard Forum is an operationally-focused, consensus-based organization with the purpose of leveraging collective resources to foster safe, secure and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic. Membership includes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation and the United States. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley)
