Iceland faces Cold War-like security uncertainty, official says

Iceland’s military and geopolitical importance has grown as tensions rise in the Arctic, according to AFP, cited by mbl.is. Jónas G. Allansson, director of the Defence Affairs Department at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, said the country’s current situation was comparable to that of the Cold War, although uncertainty may be greater today.

Because Iceland has no military, it still relies on the government in Washington for its security, despite the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump, AFP reported.

Icelanders voted in a referendum last weekend against reopening membership negotiations with the European Union. The decision maintained the existing arrangement, under which Iceland participates in European cooperation through the European Economic Area agreement, has access to the bloc’s internal market and relies on NATO for defence.

Trump’s repeated threats to take control of Greenland and his trade disputes with Canada have affected the relationship, but Iceland still wants to maintain close ties with the United States.

“Political rhetoric is of course concerning. But it is also important to try to strengthen the relationship,” Allansson told AFP.

The United States closed its military base in Keflavík in 2006, but has gradually increased its presence in Iceland again as tensions with Moscow have grown since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, AFP reported. The US Navy regularly sends surveillance aircraft over Iceland, while NATO is responsible for protecting the country’s airspace. The alliance has also increased its military exercises.

Iceland is a key outpost of the GIUK gap, the sea area between the United Kingdom, Greenland and Iceland. “The situation we live in today is quite comparable to what it was during the Cold War,” Allansson said. “In some respects, there is greater uncertainty in the equation now because of the Russian government’s policy.”