Royal Navy warships lead task force into Arctic Circle amid increase Russian aggression

ROYAL Navy ships are spearheading a multinational task group into the Arctic Circle in a bid to provide security and reassurance in the region.
By Tom Cotterill
Published 10th Sep 2020, 12:30 BST
Updated 10th Sep 2020, 16:31 BST

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HMS Sutherland has been shadowing seven Russian ships alongside eight other Royal Navy vessels in UK watersHMS Sutherland has been shadowing seven Russian ships alongside eight other Royal Navy vessels in UK waters
HMS Sutherland has been shadowing seven Russian ships alongside eight other Royal Navy vessels in UK waters

Type 23 frigate HMS Sutherland and RFA Tidespring have joined forces with American destroyer USS Ross and the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl.

Supported by a Danish patrol craft, the flotilla of ships will help to protect shipping rights in the region.

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The news comes following an ‘aggressive’ push in the region by both the Russian and Chinese navies.

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The new UK, US, Danish and Norwegian partnership will now look to provide additional protection to reassure allied nations in the region.

In a statement, the Royal Navy said: ‘By operating alongside each other in an open and transparent manner, the Royal Navy and its allies continue to show they are dedicated to maintaining peace and freedom of navigation for all in a vital area.’

The operation, which was revealed by the Royal Navy earlier this week, will build on a similar UK/US mission in which Portsmouth-based HMS Kent deployed into the Barents Sea in May this year.

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Last year Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, warned against ‘aggressive’ behaviour from China and Russia in the Arctic.

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The American diplomat called on nations in the territory to beware increased competition for power in the region.

Speaking in Finland ahead of a meeting of the eight-nation Arctic Council, Mr Pompeo warned there was a ‘new age of strategic engagement in the Arctic, complete with new threats’.

‘So far the Arctic Council has done its job,’ said Mr Pompeo. ‘But we face a new era of challenge. Now is a time for increased vigilance.’

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