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”– Finland och Sverige har ett gemensamt problem: Det gäller en grupp bångstyriga historielösa människor på Åland. Där finns beslutsfattare som gärna åtnjuter Finlands skydd, men som glatt stoltserar med att bjuda in ryska spionskepp och klagar i högan sky då finska marinen ens lite närmar sig gränsen till öriket. Jag förstår inte varför Sverige och svenska beslutsfattare accepterar att det ska vara på det här sättet, säger Salonius-Pasternak.”

Ovanstående smått märkliga citat av Charly Salonius-Pasternak i en artikel (HBL 30.11) kan bara inte lämnas okommenterat. […]

Ålandsmodellen är en unik helhetslösning bestående av tre delar: för Finland – överhöghet över det åländska territoriet; för Åland – rätt till språk och kultur vilket säkras genom långtgående självstyrelse och för Sverige och faktiskt hela norra Östersjön – demilitarisering och neutralisering av Ålandsöarna som en säkerhetspolitisk lösning internationellt säkrad.

Ett ifrågasättande av en del av Ålandsmodellen riskerar hela lösningsmodellen vilket kan få enorma konsekvenser!

Ålandsmodellen är inte en fråga som rör enbart Sverige och Finland utan är ett resultat av ett avgörande i Nationernas Förbund vilket bland annat utmynnade i en internationell konvention som ratificerats och undertecknats av en rad stater.

Formellt är Åland inte en part i lösningen, vilket vi gjort allt för att bli, det är därför smickrande att Salonius-Pasternak ändå tillerkänner oss ett så starkt inflytande. Läs artikel

Even though much of the great power rivalry between the USA and Russia takes place in the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea without Norwegian participation, much of the American activity is also taking place out from Norway, among others aircraft- and submarine activities. This is an advantage for Norway and the USA’s situational awareness in the area. However, the disadvantage is that Norway comes higher up on the Russian list of potential targets that are to be taken out in case of a crisis or conflict.

This is the argument of Professor, Lieutenant Colonel and Research Leader at the Norwegian Defense University College Staff School Tormod Heier in an interview with High North News.

“Norway is becoming more exposed. At the same time, it is fully dependent on American assistance in case of a crisis situation. Norway thus has a balancing act and there is no single answer as to how to manage this. It requires delicate statesmanship and it is important to continually discuss this and anchor decisions within a broad segment of the people, Heier explains.

In his new book “En randstat på avveie? Norges vei inn I den nye kalde krigen, 2014-2021” [A Limitrophe State Gone AWOL? Norway’s Way into the New Cold War 2014-2021], Heier goes more in-depth on the topical dilemma about how much security Norway manages to get from the USA without simultaneously  provoking Russian counter-reactions and, through that, creating an escalating spiral in Norway’s immediate neighborhood. […]

What is missing?

“Norway simply needs more vessels, planes and crew. It is particularly important to strengthen endurance, so that Norway can demonstrate consistent visibility and presence with Norwegian rather than American forces. Visibility is in and of itself deterring, but in a more defensive way than sharp-shod Americans who are part of the USA missile shield.” Läs intervjun

A sharp increase in nuclear-powered vessels and ships with radioactive materials pose an increasing risk of accidents, a recent radiological- and nuclear risk assessment study for the Arctic Council concludes.

The risk is moderate and increasing in regards to nuclear-powered vessels and floating nuclear power plants, the report reads.

Now, authorities take action and deploy drones with radiation detectors on board Norway’s fleet of five Inner Coast Guard patrol vessels, from the North Sea region in the south to the Barents Sea in the north.

The danger is obvious. A worst-case scenario is a nuclear-powered vessel with a reactor leakage drifting at sea or running aground with a wind direction towards populated areas. In northern Norway, nine out of ten inhabitants live less than four kilometers from the sea.

A drone can help measure levels of radiation in close vicinity to the vessel in distress without exposing any of the emergency response teams to danger. The Coast Guard is already on 24/7 watch and plays an important role in emergency preparedness. Läs artikel

The U.N. committee that approves the credentials of representatives at the world body decided Wednesday to postpone a decision on who will represent Myanmar and Afghanistan.

”I can confirm the Credentials Committee had its meeting to consider credentials of U.N. member states, including Afghanistan and Myanmar,” Swedish U.N. Ambassador Anna Karin Enestrom, who heads the nine-member committee, told reporters following members’ closed-door discussions. “The committee has decided to defer its decision of the credentials in these two situations.”

She said a report that will go to the General Assembly will be made public, but she declined to say when. Läs artikel

Rysslands utrikesminister Sergej Lavrov och USA:s utrikesminister Antony Blinken höll i dag ett möte på tu man hand i Stockholm. Det bilaterala mötet ägde rum i samband med ett utrikesministermöte för medlemsländerna i OSSE (Organisationen för säkerhet och samarbete i Europa). […]

Blinken påpekade att Ryssland kommer att möta hårda sanktioner i fall av en rysk invasion i Ukraina, och att det bästa sättet att avvärja en kris är genom diplomati. […]

Blinken uppmanade Ryssland ”att respektera Ukrainas suveränitet och territoriella integritet, minska på uppbyggnaden av trupper, sända styrkor tillbaka till normala fredliga positioner och att genomföra de åtaganden som stipuleras i Minskavtalet.

Minskavtalet, som är avsett att skapa fred i den oroliga ukrainska regionen, ledde till att de värsta striderna mattades av, men det pågår fortfarande mindre stridigheter och ingen politisk enighet har nåtts om områdets framtida status.

Sergej Lavrov konstaterade å sin sida att Natos militära infrastruktur närmar sig Rysslands gränser.

– Det har utplacerats antimissilförsvarssystem i Rumänien och Polen, och de kan användas för anfall. Dessutom kan amerikanska medeldistansraketer dyka upp på europeiskt territorium. Mardrömsscenariet med militär konfrontation är på väg tillbaka i Europa.

Lavrov sa också att Ryssland kommer att lägga fram förslag till en ny europeisk säkerhetspakt som kunde stoppa Nato från att expandera längre österut. Han sa sig hoppas på att Rysslands förslag noggrant kommer att övervägas. Läs artikel

Det sammansatta utrikes- och försvarsutskottet föreslår att riksdagen säger ja till regeringens förslag att Sverige ska fortsätta delta i den pågående FN-insatsen samt i den militära insatsen Task Force Takuba i Mali. […]

I september 2020 inleddes en övergångsperiod på 18 månader för återgång till folkvalt styre i Mali, men processen går långsamt. Senast i maj 2021 genomfördes en militärkupp i landet. Utskottet håller med regeringen om att Minusma fortsatt har en viktig roll att spela i Mali. Ett svenskt deltagande kan bidra till förbättrad säkerhet, långsiktig stabilitet och stöd till den politiska övergångsprocessen.[…]

Utskottet föreslår därför att riksdagen säger ja till regeringens förslag att förlänga Sveriges deltagande i Minusma till den 31 december 2022. Den svenska väpnade styrkan ska högst bestå av 470 personer. Detta gäller under förutsättning att det finns ett giltigt mandat för styrkan från FN:s säkerhetsråd. […]

Regeringen bedömer att Mali har ett fortsatt behov av internationellt militärt stöd via Task Force Takuba, vilket utskottet instämmer i.

Mot den bakgrunden föreslår utskottet att riksdagen säger ja till regeringens förslag att ställa en svensk väpnad styrka om högst 250 personer till förfogande till den 31 december 2022. Under första kvartalet 2022 ska det svenska förbandet kunna stödja och förstärka pågående insatser. Senare under året ska förbandet övergå till att stödja insatsen med en enhet som kan bidra med avancerad sjukvård. […]

Flera partier har reservationer mot förslagen. Sverigedemokraterna och Centerpartiet reserverar sig delvis mot utskottets förslag att förlänga FN-insatsen i Mali.

Sverigedemokraterna, Centerpartiet och Liberalerna reserverar sig delvis mot utskottets förslag att förlänga Task Force Takuba-insatsen. Vänsterpartiet föreslår att riksdagen säger nej till utskottets förslag om ett fortsatt deltagande i Task Force Takuba-insatsen i Mali. Läs förslaget

[…] Kishida, previously regarded as a “dove” within Japan’s political system, has overseen expansions to Japan’s military in the wake of crises in eastern Asia. On Friday, the country’s new cabinet approved a $7 billion increase to the country’s defense budget, covering items including missiles and anti-submarine countermeasures. That request, which would need to be approved by the Diet, Japan’s parliament, would bring the country’s total defense spending up to more than $50 billion, or around one percent of the country’s GDP.

Kishida has attempted to explain the increases in Japan’s defense budget on the rationale of the region’s worsening security environment. However, Japanese objections to increased military spending have remained strong; opponents of the new budget have claimed that the increases come as the country’s population is increasingly aging, leading to concerns that military funds should instead be spent on social services. Läs artikel

President Joe Biden’s administration is unlikely to sanction India under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for procuring the Russian S-400 air defence systems, sources told ThePrint.

The $5.43-billion S-400 ‘Triumf’ missile systems deal will be in the spotlight during the India visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin on 6 December during which he will hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. […]

While the US hasn’t yet made its stand public on how it will deal with India on CAATSA as far as S-400 is concerned, the Biden administration has told New Delhi during diplomatic dialogues that it is “willing” to grant a presidential waiver to India “only” for the S-400 deal as a one-time exception, the source said. Läs artikel

Russia and a number of Southeast Asian countries kicked off their first ever joint naval exercise along the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes, on Wednesday, Indonesia’s navy said.

The drills come at a time of growing tensions in the Pacific, particularly around the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety. All ten members of ASEAN, Southeast Asia’s regional bloc, participated in Wednesday’s drills. Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Brunei provided warships or aircraft, with the Philippines taking part as a virtual observer.

The exercises will continue until Saturday.

“This exercise is about peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” Russia’s ambassador to the bloc Alexander Ivanov said in a statement.

Indonesian first fleet commander Arsyad Abdullah said the exercise would “enhance the interoperability and understanding between the Russian and ASEAN militaries.”

One analyst told AFP the exercise would reaffirm the ASEAN bloc’s principle of non-alignment, particularly given regional tensions.

“It is important for us to ensure the balance of power in our region, to reiterate that this is a non-aligned region,” Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, an Indonesian military analyst from the Institute of Defense and Security Studies, said. The bloc has previously held drills alongside the US and Chinese navies, while Indonesia and the United States held their biggest ever annual military exercise — known as Garuda Shield — in August. Läs artikel

This meeting came at a critical time.  In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up planning for potential military action in Ukraine, including positioning tens of thousands of additional combat forces near the Ukrainian border. […]

Diplomacy is the only responsible way to resolve this potential crisis.  The most promising avenue for diplomacy is for Russia and Ukraine to returnt to dialogue in the context of the Minsk agreements, which aims to end the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.  President Putin said recently, and I quote, “There is no alternative to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.”  President Zelenskyy has also reiterated Ukraine’s continued commitment to Minsk.

The United States reaffirms our support for diplomacy and for implementing the Minsk agreements.  We call on all sides to restore the ceasefire to July 2020 levels.  And we urge Russia to de-escalate, to reverse the recent troop buildup, to return forces to normal peace-time positions, to pull back heavy weapons and forces from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, to refrain from further intimidation and attempts to destabilize Ukraine internally, and to leave plans for further military action behind. […]

Question: You’ve just warned Russia of economic consequences, but what exactly are those measures?  Will the U.S., for example, go as far as cutting off Moscow from the global financial system?  And since Russia has already been sanctioned and weathered those sanctions, what makes you think that Putin will be deterred by today’s warning?

Secretary Blinken:  Thank you.  Well, first, let me say that we’ve already demonstrated in the 10 months or so of this administration that we can and we will respond to harmful Russian actions: SolarWinds, election interference, repression against Mr. Navalny, and others.  Should Russia follow the path of confrontation when it comes to Ukraine, we’ve made clear that we will respond resolutely, including with a range of high-impact economic measures that we have refrained from pursuing in the past. Läs artikel

Moscow increasingly views the ‘Collective West’ as an offensive actor and the High North as terrain for NATO ‘expansion’. Norway figures as an active partner in this endeavour. For Norway, this situation is precarious: to the degree that Norway is seen as an inimical ‘NATO in the North’, Norwegian policies across a range of issue-areas increasingly risk being perceived as actions in an existential Russia–West struggle. This is worrisome because key pillar of official Norwegian policy towards Russia involves balancing NATO deterrence with reassurance. As the military/non-military distinction becomes blurred in the eyes of Russia this crucial balancing becomes very difficult – the intended ‘reassuring’ signal might not come across. Läs rapporten