Iceland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, and Deputy Secretary of Defence of the United States of America, Robert O. Work, have signed a Joint Declaration on security and defense affairs. The signing took place in Reykjavík and Washington on Wednesday 29 June.
The declaration supplements the Joint Statement between the countries that was signed in September 2006 when US military forces discontinued their permanent presence in Iceland, and is based on the 1951 Defense Agreement between the countries.
According to a press release from Iceland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs this new declaration is in particular intended to highlight the rotational presence of US military forces in Iceland, which constitutes a gradation in the cooperation between the countries. We want to formalize in this manner, as transparency remains very important in our relations. At the same time, the Declaration gives us a welcome opportunity to reiterate our mutual defense commitments and continued dialogue and consultations within a successful defense cooperations that has increased in recent years, states Minister Alfreðsdóttir.
As we have previously reported the US Navy requested funds on the 2017 US military budget for the upgrading of an aircraft hangar in Keflavík Airport, which served as a US Naval base until 2006. The upgrade would allow the hangar to house patrol planes hunting for Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.
Last year the Deputy Secretary of Defence Bob Work visited Iceland, inspecting the facilities in Keflavík. Among the sites visited by Work was the hangar which has housed the P-3 planes noting it would need to be upgraded. At the time the question of re-establishing a permanent US presence in Iceland was also raised.
Increasing Russian activity in the North Atlantic recently has led to growing concern, and the planned updates in Keflavík will make it possible for the Navy to operate larger Boeing P-8 Poseidon planes from Keflavik.
Read more: Strategic significance of Iceland grows as Russian presence in North Atlantic grows
Currently the Keflavík Airbase is being used by planes from the US and other NATO members. The US Navy has used the base for Boeing P-3 Orion planes on anti-submarine reconnaissance, operating out of Sicily.
Keflavík played a key role during the Cold War
The Keflavík Naval Air Station played an important role during the Cold War, allowing the US to monitor Soviet activities in the North Atlantic. The base played a key role in patrolling the GIUK gap, Greenland-Iceland-UK, through which all Soviet long range aircraft or submarines had to pass before entering the Atlantic.
The base is located at Keflavík Airport, which was built by the US Military during WWII. The first US troops after WWII were stationed at the base in 1951, and the US maintained a large presence there until the inactivation of the base on June 28 2006 and its closing on September 8 2006.
Iceland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, and Deputy Secretary of Defence of the United States of America, Robert O. Work, have signed a Joint Declaration on security and defense affairs. The signing took place in Reykjavík and Washington on Wednesday 29 June.
The declaration supplements the Joint Statement between the countries that was signed in September 2006 when US military forces discontinued their permanent presence in Iceland, and is based on the 1951 Defense Agreement between the countries.
According to a press release from Iceland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs this new declaration is in particular intended to highlight the rotational presence of US military forces in Iceland, which constitutes a gradation in the cooperation between the countries. We want to formalize in this manner, as transparency remains very important in our relations. At the same time, the Declaration gives us a welcome opportunity to reiterate our mutual defense commitments and continued dialogue and consultations within a successful defense cooperations that has increased in recent years, states Minister Alfreðsdóttir.
As we have previously reported the US Navy requested funds on the 2017 US military budget for the upgrading of an aircraft hangar in Keflavík Airport, which served as a US Naval base until 2006. The upgrade would allow the hangar to house patrol planes hunting for Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.
Last year the Deputy Secretary of Defence Bob Work visited Iceland, inspecting the facilities in Keflavík. Among the sites visited by Work was the hangar which has housed the P-3 planes noting it would need to be upgraded. At the time the question of re-establishing a permanent US presence in Iceland was also raised.
Increasing Russian activity in the North Atlantic recently has led to growing concern, and the planned updates in Keflavík will make it possible for the Navy to operate larger Boeing P-8 Poseidon planes from Keflavik.
Read more: Strategic significance of Iceland grows as Russian presence in North Atlantic grows
Currently the Keflavík Airbase is being used by planes from the US and other NATO members. The US Navy has used the base for Boeing P-3 Orion planes on anti-submarine reconnaissance, operating out of Sicily.
Keflavík played a key role during the Cold War
The Keflavík Naval Air Station played an important role during the Cold War, allowing the US to monitor Soviet activities in the North Atlantic. The base played a key role in patrolling the GIUK gap, Greenland-Iceland-UK, through which all Soviet long range aircraft or submarines had to pass before entering the Atlantic.
The base is located at Keflavík Airport, which was built by the US Military during WWII. The first US troops after WWII were stationed at the base in 1951, and the US maintained a large presence there until the inactivation of the base on June 28 2006 and its closing on September 8 2006.
