US-Canadian disengagement was never on the ballot – By Charles Jacoby Jr. and Tom Lawson (Military Times) / Dec 5 2020
On Nov. 3, Americans were joined by their Canadian neighbors in gathering anxiously around televisions to watch the election results roll in. Over the last four years the two countries have seen bitter disagreements over trade, hard words between leaders, and even the closure of the 5,500-mile-long border for the first time since Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixty-eight percent of Canadians worried there would be a “complete breakdown of the political system in the U.S., leading to a period of social chaos,” according to a Leger poll. This seeming disconnect between key allies may seem concerning; however, our tradition of shared security interests and historical defense institutions bodes well for the transcension of such periods of disagreement.
Indeed, as global threat levels mount with the uncertain objectives of great power competitors, we can expect our instinctive and institutionalized ways of coming together as fellow North Americans to kick in once again to meet emerging challenges. Nowhere is that truer than in the rapidly opening Arctic, where there is both global strategic interest, but more importantly for the U.S. and Canada a requirement to defend shared sovereign interests across all domains that may be threatened.
Historically, the vast, ice-covered Arctic Ocean offered a natural barrier to commercial interests and international mischief in the region. Today, with that ice slowly melting away, unguarded avenues of approach are opening to adversaries old and new. This is particularly concerning when one considers that Russia has been highly focused on becoming a predominant military force in the Arctic, investing in ports, air bases and electronic warfare capabilities. Despite its northernmost point being 900 miles from the Arctic Circle, China too has invested billions in the Arctic and its areas of influence.
