US Force Level in Arctic Region 'Can Change Tomorrow' – Navy Staff Director
20:35 07.12.2016(updated 21:07 07.12.2016)
According to Navy Staff Director Vice Adm. James Foggo, the US could increase its military presence in the Arctic region if conditions there became a national priority.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The size of the US military force operating in the Arctic region could grow if conditions there became a national priority, Navy Staff Director Vice Adm. James Foggo told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"The prediction of whether or not there will be more forces or less forces out there…in the hierarchy of things we have lots of other challenges that are bigger elsewhere in the world. That is where we stand today. It can change tomorrow, though," Foggo said at the Defense Forum, a policy conference in Washington, DC.
The admiral added that the United States was studying the results of climate change and its impact on the region very carefully.
"We see a large inflow of merchant shipping and cruise ships," he pointed out.
In October, the Navy's chief of operations, Adm. John Richardson, said the US military will continue to strengthen its ability to operate in the Arctic Ocean while prioritizing other needs around the world.
© Sputnik
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