https://arab.news/8u4d5
As the world grapples with multiple geopolitical flashpoints — from the fallout of strikes in Iran and stalled Ukraine-Russia negotiations to an unexpected flare-up of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia — it is easy to lose sight of another region where tensions are quietly growing: the Arctic.
This week, three events underscore the region’s increasing strategic significance and its potential to become a future hot spot of global instability.
First, it was reported that GPS signals used by commercial and civilian aircraft, including search-and-rescue helicopters, were being jammed and spoofed near the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. While Svalbard was granted to Norway under a 1920s treaty after the First World War, it remains a geopolitical fault line between Norway and Russia. Incidents of electronic interference in the region have risen dramatically since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent deterioration in relations between Moscow and the West.
Second, the Russian Navy is conducting a major maritime exercise in the Arctic Ocean. Authorities designated a vast area, roughly the size of the UAE, as unsafe for civilian activity. The exercise zone sits in a maritime area that was once disputed with Norway, making the timing and location of the drill especially provocative.
