NATO Intensifies Arctic Operations with Denmark

On 1 October 2020,NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM) began a new era of operational coordination with Danish Joint Arctic Command (JACO),a press release said.JACO,under the command of MG Kim Jesper Jorgensen,is chiefly concerned with surveillance and sovereignty enforcement,as well as the military defence of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.It also provides fishing vessel inspection; search and rescue; maritime pollution protection;hydrographic surveys;and miscellaneous support for the civil authorities. JACO's Area of Responsibility is from the Faroe Islands to the Greenland and Arctic Seas; across the Denmark Strait and Irmingen Sea to the Davis Strait; and Baffin Bay between Greenland and Canada.Based in Nuuk, Greenland,it also has a Liaison Unit in Thorshavn, Faroe Islands.* MARCOM, for its part, maintains maritime domain awareness and overwatch over the entire extent of Supreme Allied Commander Europe's AOR, hence shares vital interests and operational objectives with JACO.The enhanced cooperation includes monthly coordination meetings; surveillance exchanges; and joint exercises.* Commander Allied Maritime Command,NATO VADM Keith Blount, Royal Navy,summed up the purpose of the new pact: Over the past years, we have seen an increasing maritime interest in the Arctic Region.I anticipate that MARCOM and JACO will greatly benefit from working together on an operational level under this new agreement.With five NATO Allies being Arctic countries-Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and the United States-the Alliance has a clear interest in seeing stability, security and cooperation in the Arctic Region.*