US Makes Move Against Russia in the Arctic

The White House announced Thursday that the United States, Canada and Finland will collaborate on an icebreaker fleet in the Arctic, an area where Russia is notably active.

The trilateral arrangement—dubbed the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact—will boost the defensive capabilities of the three allied countries in the Arctic, according to the Associated Press. A White House statement said the plan will "strengthen the shipbuilding industry and industrial capacity of each nation."

In recent months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to open up Moscow's commercial trade in the Arctic north. At the start of this year, Putin was increasingly looking to rely on a shipping lane in the Arctic Ocean after Western sanctions brought on by his invasion of Ukraine had limited his trade resources elsewhere, according to Agence France-Presse.

Daleep Singh, a White House economic adviser, told the AP that the ICE Pact will send a message to nations like Russia that the U.S. and its allies will "doggedly pursue collaboration on industrial policy to increase our competitive edge."

Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin via email on Thursday for comment.

Singh said: "Without this arrangement, we'd risk our adversaries developing an advantage in a specialized technology with vast geostrategic importance, which could also allow them to become the preferred supplier for countries that also have an interest in purchasing polar icebreakers," according to the AP.

He continued, "We're committed to projecting power into the high latitudes alongside our allies and partners. And that requires a continuous surface presence in the polar regions, both to combat Russian aggression and to limit China's ability to gain influence."

The White House's statement on the ICE Pact outlined the first three components that make up the plan. Along with an "enhanced information exchange" between the three countries involved, the plan includes collaborating on the development of a workforce for the fleet and "an invitation to allies and partners to purchase icebreakers built in American, Canadian, or Finnish shipyards."

"The governments of the United States, Canada, and Finland intend to leverage shipyards in the United States, Canada, and Finland to build polar icebreakers for their own use, as well as to work closely with likeminded allies and partners to build and export polar icebreakers for their needs at speed and affordable cost," the White House statement said.

More concrete details of the pact are expected to be announced by the end of the year.

The White House also said that the U.S. Coast Guard uses icebreakers to "support the country's economic, commercial, maritime, and national security needs in the Polar regions."

"The U.S. Coast Guard is working to build new heavy icebreakers under the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) Program," the White House said. "These ships will be national assets that ensure access to both polar regions—and will be capable of executing key Coast Guard missions, including defense readiness; marine environmental protection; ports, waterways, and coastal security; and search and rescue."