PC 004 PCTR 14 E Original: English NATO Parliamentary Assembly SUB-COMMITTEE ON TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS MISSION REPORT DENMARK AND GREENLAND 9 – 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 www.nato-pa.int 6 January 2014 This Mission Report is presented for information only and does not represent the official view of the Assembly. This report was prepared by Steffen Sachs, Director of the Political Committee. 004 PCTR 14 E I. INTRODUCTION 1. A delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly visited the Kingdom of Denmark from 9 to 13 September 2013 to discuss the implications of a changing Arctic for NATO and the international community. The delegation consisted of 13 members from eight NATO member countries and was led by John Dyrby Paulsen (Denmark), Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Relations. The group had meetings in Copenhagen and travelled to Greenland, where the delegation visited Station Nord, Thule Air Base, and Nuuk. II. BRIEFINGS AT THE DANISH DEFENCE COMMAND 2. The briefings in Copenhagen focused on Danish Defence as well as the Arctic Strategies of Denmark and the United States. In the meetings at the Danish Defence Command, senior Danish military officers briefed the participants on the international engagements of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark as well as Danish Defence in the Arctic. Major General Carsten Svensson, Commander of the Royal Danish Defence College (RDDC) briefed the delegation on the national and international tasks of the Danish Armed Forces. 3. The defence of Danish Airspace as well as maritime surveillance of Danish territory, particularly Danish waters, was a crucial part of the portfolio of the Danish Armed Forces, the General emphasised. The latter was important as Denmark’s coastline was more than 7,000 km long and because each year more than 100,000 ships (above 300 tons) passed through the Danish straits. At any given time, more than 300 ships were passing Danish waters. 4. In addition to the monitoring of the national territory and enforcement of sovereignty, the Danish Armed Forces’ national tasks comprised a range of more civilian-oriented tasks in support of Danish society, such as Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, environmental tasks as well as providing support to a number of other public authorities, such as the police, the Civil Maritime Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the customs authorities. Elaborating on the Danish Armed Forces’ activities in SAR and maritime assistance, the speaker said that the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) Denmark was responsible for the co-ordination of all SAR operations associated with aeronautical and maritime emergencies in Denmark. The Maritime Assistance Service (MAS), co-located in Aarhus, was an integrated part of Admiral Danish Fleet functioning around the clock as a central maritime contact point for shipping in and around Danish territorial waters. 5. As to their international tasks, the Danish Armed Forces contributed combat, staff and training forces to a number of NATO operations and UN missions. At present, 426 Danish troops were deployed, the majority of them, 388, participating in NATO operations. 351 Danish soldiers were deployed with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, 36 soldiers with the Kosovo Force (KFOR) and 1 soldier with the Standing NATO Maritime Group-1. In Afghanistan, Danish forces were serving in Kabul (staff, logistic and training contribution), Jalalabad, Kandahar (airfield security contribution) and Helmand province (staff, logistics, medical and combat unit contributions). Moreover, the Royal Danish Navy actively participated in counter piracy operations for the 2013-14 period. Denmark contributed aerial surveillance aircraft, a frigate, and command and control personnel to operation “Ocean Shield” in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa, General Svensson informed the delegation. Due to their relatively limited size and the number of international operations involved, the Danish Armed Forces were either getting prepared for deployment or they were deployed. 73% of the Kingdom’s approximately 22,000 Armed Forces personnel were military, the remainder civilian personnel, the delegation learned. 1 004 PCTR 14 E 6. What is more, Denmark contributed with fighter aircrafts to Baltic Air Policing since 2004 and to Iceland Air Policing since 2009. In this context, the task of the Danish fighters was to conduct daily patrolling of the airspace and to maintain a quick reaction alert in case of violations of the airspace. The Danish contribution typically consisted of four F-16 fighter aircraft and approximately 50 persons. Moreover, Danish military contributions were also made to the operation in Mali and to capacity building activities in Libya. As to future deployments, the delegation learned that the Arctic was becoming increasingly important as an area of operation for the Danish Armed Forces. In the discussion with the parliamentarians, the General was confident that the Danish Armed Forces were able to fulfil their tasks despite cuts in the defence budget, adding, however, that ‘there was not much room for surprise’. 7. Lieutenant Colonel Kim Nelson stressed the need to maintain the Kingdom’s operational capabilities. While the defence agreement for the Kingdom of Denmark for the years 2013-2017 foresaw a reduction of military spending by DKr 2.7 billion, the equivalent of some USD 460 million (or 12%), he said that the level of ambition for the country’s armed forces remained unchanged. Thus, the Danish Armed Forces were expected to fulfil the full range of operations, including war fighting, counter insurgency, peace support operations, and non-combatant evacuation operations. In order to maintain their operative capabilities and to cope with the budget reductions, the Armed Forces were optimising support capabilities by centralising acquisition, simplifying logistic distribution and reducing real estate. For example, the Danish Defence Academy would be merged with the three officers academies into one organisation. Conscription would be continued at least until 2020 to help recruitment for the three services, but the number of conscripts actually drafted would be reduced from currently 5,000 to 4,200 in 2014, the Colonel said. The projected savings by these initiatives should compensate for the reduced defence expenditures and allow a stronger focus on the Arctic and on cyber defence, according to Colonel Nelson. 8. As to the Danish Armed Forces’ future contribution to international missions, the Danish army would maintain an ability to rapidly deploy of up to one Battle Group including force support for a shorter or longer duration. Additional contributions to future international missions included a joint task force for humanitarian relief operations (or operations in the Arctic and as support to special operations forces), a tactical headquarter, and military capability building and military support to Civilian Capacity Building tasks. 9. The contribution of the Royal Danish Navy to future international missions included a frigate or flexible support vessel continuously deployed or a frigate and a flexible support vessel deployed for a duration of six months. As far as national tasks in the Arctic (Greenland and the Faroe Islands) were concerned, the navy planned to have two to three inspection vessels continuously deployed in the region. The 2013-2017 Defence Agreement also foresaw the establishment of a Joint Arctic Command, which had been completed recently. The establishment of a Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in the Arctic Command had just been initiated as well as the development of a concept which allowed the deployment of existing capabilities from all services as an Arctic Response Force. Additional steps that were being initiated were the replacement of the AGDLEK class cutter by a new third Arctic patrol ship, a risk analysis of the maritime environment around Greenland, and a comprehensive analysis of the Danish Defence’s future missions and tasks in the Arctic, the delegation learned. 10. A more detailed overview of Danish Defence in the Arctic was given by Commander Jens Heine Grauen Larsen. He started off by pointing out that while Greenland and the Faroe Islands enjoyed self-rule they were NATO members as part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark, which had been patrolling the Arctic for more than 200 years, had three main interests in the Arctic. First, Denmark wanted to maintain and promote the Arctic as a low tension region governed by international law. Second, the Danish government wanted to enhance international co-operation in the region, particularly within the areas of SAR and maritime environmental protection. Third, Denmark wanted to keep an updated and visible military presence in Greenland 2 004 PCTR 14 E and in Arctic waters as a sovereign state whilst respecting the Arctic Council Illulisat Declaration which emphasised avoiding a militarisation of the Arctic. 11. The Joint Arctic Command played a key role in meeting these interests. In addition to its tasks of surveillance of and exercising Denmark’s sovereignty in the Arctic, it was responsible for SAR, fishery inspection, management of oil spills, geographical mapping and support of civil society in the region. 12. The harsh weather conditions and long distances made surveillance of this vast area challenging, he noted. However, due to climate change, mineral and energy deposits as well as the newly navigable sea routes such as the North East passage, the region would provide new opportunities in the future. 13. At a roundtable discussion in the Danish Parliament, Rear Admiral Nils Vang, Commandant of the Royal Danish Defence College provided a general overview over the changes which were currently occurring in the Arctic. He dismissed the notion that there was a “scramble for the Arctic” where Arctic states would vastly increase their military assets in the region. Rather, the growing interest in the Arctic was the result of climate change which made the natural resources in minerals, and oil and gas more easily accessible in the future.