Senior NATO commanders have warned that growing military cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic is emerging as a significant security concern, citing an increase in joint air and maritime activity in the High North.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels following a meeting of NATO’s Military Committee, Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich said the pattern of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in the region had intensified over recent years.
“One of the most concerning changes in the security situation has been the growing collaboration between Russia and China in the Arctic,” he said. “We’ve seen that over the last several years, both in the maritime domain with increased joint patrols, as well as in the air domain, with long-range bomber patrols being conducted jointly.”
Grynkewich said the trend was closely monitored by the Alliance, stressing that coordinated activity between potential adversaries in a strategically sensitive region required sustained attention.
“The activity that they’re doing together is definitely increasing, and any time our competitors or potential adversaries are doing that, it’s something that we need to pay attention to,” he added.
The Arctic has taken on growing strategic importance for NATO as climate change opens new maritime routes and increases military access to the region. It also sits at the centre of the transatlantic security architecture, including nuclear deterrence patrol areas and key early-warning corridors. NATO leaders have repeatedly highlighted the High North as an area where long-term trends, rather than immediate crises, pose some of the most complex security challenges. While the Alliance has not announced any new Arctic-specific mission, commanders confirmed that existing activities and posture adjustments are already underway.
Grynkewich noted that NATO maintains a 360-degree approach to security across its area of responsibility, with Arctic activity forming part of broader deterrence and defence planning rather than a standalone operation. The comments come amid heightened political debate over Arctic security following renewed focus on Greenland and the wider High North, though NATO officials have emphasised that military planning remains driven by long-term threat assessments rather than short-term political developments.
With Finland and Sweden now members of the Alliance, NATO has significantly expanded its presence, experience and operational reach in Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions. Senior commanders say that integration of Nordic capabilities, alongside transatlantic coordination with North America, is reshaping how the Alliance approaches northern defence.
For NATO, the increasing visibility of coordinated Russian and Chinese activity in the region reinforces a central message from this week’s military talks: that competition in the Arctic is no longer theoretical, and that developments in the High North will remain a persistent feature of the Alliance’s security environment.
Is there really an increase in Chinese naval activity in the High North? Everything I’ve read recently says that there is no increase so far. Does the Chinese navy have any icebreakers that would be needed?
Yes, there are joint Chinese-Russian air and fleet exercises North.of Japan but that’s nothing new. And yes, NATO has to be prepared in case China starts taking a serious interest in the Arctic.
But this seems rather political, endeavouring to substantiate Trump’s grab for Greenland and its rare earth minerals. Read in conjunction with the other article today, about Norfolk taking on command responsibility for the High North, it looks like a bid to rope off the Arctic and keep out the Europeans even more than the Chinese.
Or am I being too cynical?
There has been no reported Chinese activity near Greenland since 2015. This guy is liar and Trump stooge.
In other news Starmer has now withdrawn the Diego Garcia bill for fear of violating the 1966 treaty with the USA.
Best thing the UK can do now is nothing. Let the USA sort it out and if they want an eventual conclusion then let them pay Mauritius.
We will likely soon have Chinese warships conducting freedom of navigation patrols off the island just like the US does to them in the South China see and their will be nothing unclue Sam can do about it. Mauritius will go to the ITLOS and likely be successful. US defence contractors will be chased through the courts at home and abroad for supporting the island.
Another 4D chess move from the Trump administration.