Title: With the Armed Forces into year 2000 - Defence Policy Guidelines
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DEFENCE POLICY GUIDELINES
An effective and credible defence is not something that can be realised in the course of a few short years. The materiel that we procure and the way in which we develop the professional skills and expertise of our service personnel over the next four years will provide the cornerstones of the country's defence capability in fifteen years time. Hence, our defence will be a determining factor affecting the Government's freedom of action in dealing with eventual crisis situations far into the future.
It is vital that defence policy and planning should be directed towards possible long-term eventualities. Taking the long-term perspective, the possibility of invasion cannot be ruled out. Such a comprehensive military attack could scarcely be mounted against more than one region of the country but it could conceivably be supported by limited operations against the rest of the country. The Government's ambition is therefore to continue to maintain the capability of defending one region of the country at a time against invasion for a limited period.
Our own resources are insufficient to maintain a credible defence against invasion for any great length of time. The political and military support of our allies will be of decisive importance. But a surprise military attack must not be allowed to lead to the collapse of our defensive capability just as we are about to receive allied support. In order to ensure the necessary national freedom of action, Norway's defences must be capable of holding out against military attack to a certain minimum extent.
Our capability to defend one part of the country at a time against invasion does not mean that the rest of the country is left exposed. The whole country must be kept under surveillance and defended against limited attack, sabotage or terrorism regardless of whether or not this is linked to the attempted invasion. Our defence organisation must also be such as to allow the safeguarding of our national sovereignty, the exercise of authority, intelligence gathering, crisis management and participation in international operations and international collaboration.
A balanced national defence cannot be maintained without the continued development of our total defence concept. We need to adhere to the principle that we can, if we must, mobilise all society's resources in Norway's defence. It remains a requirement, however, that our total defence capability should be developed in step with changes in our own society and in the world at large. For the first time, the White Paper of the Armed Forces and the Long-Term Plan for Civil Defence Preparedness are both being laid before the Storting at about the same time. This will help to ensure a greater degree of integration in the development of our Total Defence.
If we are to maintain our anti-invasion capability and at the same time retain the capacity to defend the rest of the country against more limited attack, our population numbers are too small and our land area too large to allow us to change to a system of smaller, career-based regular Armed Forces. The present system of compulsory military service is important in that it ensures that defence remains deeply rooted in the Norwegian population. Through their initial military service and subsequent refresher training, most Norwegian men have a first-hand knowledge of the Armed Forces. The system of military service is also a significant force for social integration in the community. The principle of general military service thus remains firmly a part of government policy. But the detailed provisions of the Military Service Act itself need to be regularly reviewed and updated. The Government holds the view that it is of vital importance that all those eligible for military service should be called up for a period of initial service and that the total period of time served should remain as uniform as possible. The criteria for eligibility have been adjusted so that more can be called up if necessary. Through task-oriented instruction and training supplemented by exercises it should be possible, the Government believes, for national service personnel to cover the greater part of our future needs for professional expertise in the Armed Forces. The developing situation makes it necessary, however, to prepare supplementary arrangements to cater for any eventual requirements for special skills.
Topic: Cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic Countries
The aftermath of the Cold War has also brought changes in the security and foreign policy of Sweden and Finland. Both countries have become much more deeply involved in matters of European security through their membership of the EU, observer status in the WEU and partnership agreements with NATO.
Cooperation between the Nordic countries has also been widened. The establishment of a joint Nordic peace force (NORDCAPS) has provided an important framework for this cooperation. Within NORDCAPS the intention is also to set up a force drawn from Norway, Sweden and Denmark for rapid deployment as part of an international brigade (SHIRBRIG) which could be made available for UN operations at short notice. Plans are being made for limited Norwegian participation in SHIRBRIG which is planned to become operational in 1999.
This work, together with the increased military cooperation in the multinational peace forces deployed in Bosnia, collaboration and joint exercises under the auspices of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme, collaboration in military R&D and joint procurement projects for defence equipment, has contributed to a growth in the Nordic dialogue on matters of security and defence policy.
Over recent years Norway has significantly increased its involvement with the Baltic countries as a contribution towards assisting the development of stable and democratic conditions in the Baltic area. This is regarded as an important aim even though Norway, geographically speaking, is not actually a Baltic country. Any adverse development in this part of Europe could rapidly involve repercussions for Norway as well. Norway is involved in a number of collaborative projects with the Baltic countries. We are assisting with, among other things, the establishment of a joint Baltic peacekeeping battalion (BALTBAT) and we are helping both with the provision of better air surveillance facilities for civil and military air traffic and with the formation of a Joint Naval Squadron (BALTRON) with tasks including the clearance of World War II mines remaining in Baltic waters.