Title: With the Armed Forces into year 2000 - Security Policy Fundamentals
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SECURITY POLICY FUNDAMENTALS
Norwegian security and defence policy must take potential long-term challenges into consideration. The Armed Forces constitute the main pillar in the Government´s security policy, and seek to defend the entire country against military attack and contribute to managing crises of different types and magnitude.
The present political outlook and security situation in our neighbouring areas are encouraging. The widespread sense of collaboration in Europe will hopefully help to ensure that the risk of future military confrontation in our part of the world is minimal. The Government will actively work towards this aim through military contributions seeking to secure continued stability in our area and to manage crises internationally. The further outlook for developments in the field of security policy is, however, uncertain. Norwegian security and defence policy must, therefore, also take account of challenges which could arise in the longer term. These challenges embrace everything from the infringement of Norwegian sovereignty to crises and even military attacks on Norwegian territory. Challenges against Norwegian security may also include other types of dangers such as proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, terrorist attacks, environmental destruction, and international military crises and wars.
Norway is a participant in both European, transatlantic and global security organisations. Amongst these NATO has a special place but organisations such as the WEU and the OSCE play an important part within the overall picture of European security. The organisations are in a state of constant change and the same thus applies to the opportunities for cooperation and influence that they offer. Active Norwegian participation, both political and through our international military involvement, is therefore an absolute necessity if we are to safeguard our national security interests in the broadest sense. The forthcoming enlargement of NATO, together with the arrangements for collaboration with Russia and other partner countries, opens up new perspectives for European security. This security is more than ever characterised by mutual dependency. It is therefore important that future developments in this area should take account of the security needs of all countries in a predictable way.
At the present time there is no military threat to Norway. Norway's relations with Russia now offer great potential for future cooperation both bilaterally and within multilateral frameworks. The considerable conventional and nuclear capability deployed in North-West Russia will, however, remain a factor affecting Norwegian security and defence policy. The uncertain political outlook in Russia and the possibility of the spread of armed conflicts from other regions to areas more close at hand mean that these capabilities could imply a risk to our security. The Government therefore attaches great importance to helping to ensure that Russia becomes integrated into a broad framework of European cooperation which includes matters of security and defence policy.
Norway will continue to be dependent on political and military cooperation within NATO. Because of the changed international situation, the Northern Regions are not the focus of Allied attention to the extent that they were. At the same time it is expected that Norway, which is a rich country, will accept its share of the common burden through its contributions to mutual defence and international peace operations. Our national defence planning will continue to be based on allied military reinforcement in the event of crisis or war. In a situation in which NATO is increasingly moving away from earmarked reinforcement forces, it is important to ensure that allied forces can still be brought in and that we are properly prepared to receive them. The Government will in this context seek to increase the emphasis on training and exercises.
Some degree of uncertainty has to be associated with the longer term development of NATO both as a military alliance and as a forum for political consultation. The fact that there is no longer a clearly defined enemy, allied to the gradual increase in the number of member countries, may in the future make it more difficult to harmonise the manifold national interests. Therefore in order to promote our own views and interests to the maximum extent, there is a need for strengthened Norwegian involvement both internally within NATO and in bilateral links with our most important allies. The Alliance will continue to depend on strong American involvement in European security and defence collaboration. Any uncertainty as to the extent of American presence and commitment to the defence of Europe in general and Norway in particular would be most unfortunate. At the same time it is important that the European allies should be capable of taking increased responsibility for their own security and that the concept of a European security and defence identity should be developed further within NATO with full American understanding and acceptance. The Government also sees it as important to continue to pursue collaboration in the field of security and defence policy with new members of the Alliance as well as with our Nordic neighbours, the Baltic states and other European countries.
Our ability to contribute towards continuing stability requires a broad spectrum of instruments. The Armed Forces constitute the cornerstone of the Government's security policy and they must be capable both of defending the whole country against military attack and of contributing to the management of crises that may vary widely in nature and extent. In peacetime the Armed Forces must play their part in safeguarding national sovereignty and exercising authority including protection of the oil industry's activities. Political developments in recent years have now made it all the more essential to be able to participate in a broad spectrum of international operations together with our allies, our Nordic neighbours, the partner countries and others with whom we have collaborative links. The Armed Forces will also continue to be a central means of building up and extending collaboration with non-allied countries, thereby further contributing to confidence building and stability. The Armed Forces must therefore have sufficient capability to enable them to meet a wide range of challenges, be it in peacetime or in time of crisis or war, both nationally and internationally.
Topic: Russia
In the wake of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union, Norway and Russia have developed many beneficial links. Russia currently poses no military threat and both countries wish to further this process of positive cooperation. The political situation in Russia, however, remains uncertain and somewhat unpredictable. Russia also has a concentration of forces armed with tactical and strategic nuclear weapons based on the Kola Peninsula. Norway is also concerned about the extensive storage of nuclear waste at locations in North-West Russia and about the possibility of nuclear material going astray.
Because the balance of forces between Norway and Russia is very one-sided when seen in isolation, it is important that further cooperation should also be developed within a broader multinational framework. The support of our NATO allies forms a natural element of this development.
Two bilateral framework agreements dating from 1995 are central to our cooperation with Russia. One of these agreements relates to defence cooperation in general. The other concerns defence-related environmental measures. In addition there are regular discussions between the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and its Russian counterpart.
It is in Norway's interest to encourage deeper Russian involvement in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP). Russia has, for example, been invited to take part in Exercise BARENTS PEACE being held «In the Spirit of PfP» in Finnmark in 1999.