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OTTAWA—Canada will be asked to contribute troops and equipment to a new NATO rapid response force as the military alliance beefs up its readiness in the face of increasing Russian aggression.
With Russia stepping up its military engagement in Ukraine, leaders of the NATO military alliance — including Prime Minister Stephen Harper — are expected to approve the creation of the new, multinational fighting force when they meet starting Thursday in Wales.
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen provided new details about the proposed force, describing it as a “spearhead” that could be deployed on just a few days’ notice.
“This spearhead would be provided by allies in rotation, and could include several thousand troops, ready to respond where needed with air, sea and special forces support,” Rasmussen said.
He said the new force would signal to a “potential aggressor” that NATO is prepared to respond “rapidly, if needed.”
“We do believe there is a very strong deterrent effect from having such a response force,” he told a briefing at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Rasmussen made clear that he expected all 28 member states to pony up resources for the new force, a request that Canadian officials say they will consider.
“Canada is aware of a number of proposals for measures to enhance security and stability, in addition to enhancing the effectiveness of the alliance,” a senior official told the Star Monday.
“These measures include a rapid response force. We will consider all measures accordingly and look forward to discussions at the summit next week,” the official said.
Rasmussen said the creation of the new force was part of broader efforts to make NATO “fitter, faster and more flexible to adjust to all kinds of security challenges.
“Not because NATO wants to attack anyone. But because the dangers and the threats are more present and more visible. And we will do what it takes to defend our allies,” he said.
That’s a tacit acknowledgement that years of détente with Russia have taken their toll in the form of shrinking military budgets and diminished capabilities.
But Russia’s military moves, first in Crimea and now in eastern Ukraine, have been a wake-up call for NATO and its member nations.
Calling the two-day summit a “crucial” one in NATO’s history, Rasmussen said the aim of the high-level meeting would be to affirm the alliance’s core mission.
“We will ensure that the alliance remains ready, able and willing to defend all allies against any attack,” he told reporters at the briefing.
NATO already has a rapid response force, composed of 13,000 troops provided by the member nations and a command and control element.
But Rasmussen said this new group would be the first responders to a crisis, able to “travel light but strike hard” on just a few days notice.
To ensure the mobility of its response forces, NATO plans to stockpile equipment and supplies, command and control and logistics experts at strategic locales.
NATO is also considering upgrades to infrastructure, such as airfields and ports, to support reinforcements, improved intelligence gathering and training and regular training exercises “in more places, more often.”
Rasmussen said precise details of the new force, including the contributions from each member state, would be worked out among military planners once political leaders give their formal blessing to the strategy this week.
But he said all 28 members would be expected to contribute, either troops and military gear or logistical support, as they have done for the ongoing “reassurance measures” adopted in April in the face of Russian moves.
Those measures were launched to step up NATO’s presence in eastern Europe in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Canada has played a role, dispatching CF-18 fighter jets first to Romania and now to Lithuania; troops to take part in military exercises; and the frigate HMCS Toronto, on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea. “This is a truly collective alliance effort in which all 28 allies contribute in one way or another,” Rasmussen said.
That contribution extends to defence spending. Rasmussen will be leaning on leaders such as Harper to boost funding earmarked for the armed forces.
Canada now spends just 1 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, short of the NATO benchmark of 2 per cent. U.S. President Barack Obama told Harper in a telephone call on Saturday that agreement on increased defence spending is a “top priority” for him at the summit.
As Russia’s military action in Ukraine has stepped up, the war of words between leaders has increased, too.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pointedly warned the West last week that it stood ready to repel any aggression, adding that Russia’s partners “should understand it’s best not to mess with us.”
On Monday, Rasmussen said developments in Ukraine have undone years of effort to forge a strategic partnership between NATO and Russia after the end of the Cold War. He said that Russia clearly considers NATO an “adversary” and that western leaders “cannot afford to be naive.
“We don’t have any illusions. We are faced with the reality that Russia considers us an adversary and we will adapt to that situation,” he said.
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