Photo By Amber Kurka | Sean Plankey, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for the U.S. Coast Guard, provides...... read more read more
As the Arctic grows increasingly contested, the 2025 Maritime Risk Symposium delivered a powerful reminder that the United States must remain forward-leaning in defending its maritime sovereignty interests in the region.
Hosted by the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies on May 13, the symposium gathered military leaders, researchers, industry experts, government agencies, and partners to explore what it takes to protect and defend U.S. Arctic maritime sovereignty. This year’s theme— “Protecting and Defending U.S. Arctic Maritime Sovereignty Interests through Deterrence”—reflected a sharpened focus on strategic competition and the Department of Defense’s renewed emphasis on homeland defense.
“The Arctic is no longer a remote frontier,” one speaker noted. “It’s a strategic theater where presence, partnerships, and preparation determine outcomes.”
Participants examined a wide spectrum of risks—spanning cyber vulnerabilities, gray zone activity, infrastructure gaps, illegal fishing, and fragile regulatory frameworks. The conversations made clear that maintaining U.S. maritime dominance in the Arctic requires more than investment in platforms—it requires foresight, agility, and collaboration.
The symposium also served as an early response to Section 18 of the Executive Order on Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, issued in April 2025. The order directs federal departments to develop strategies that secure Arctic waterways and enable American prosperity amid evolving security challenges—exactly the issues tackled during MRS 2025.
Across the panels, speakers emphasized that deterrence in the Arctic must be persistent and multidimensional. Maritime domain awareness, allied interoperability, and rapid response capabilities were identified as core components in securing sea lanes, defending exclusive economic zones, and countering adversarial activity.
“Our adversaries have already demonstrated interest and presence,” one expert said. “We must match that with credible capabilities and coordinated action.”
Several discussions addressed the pressures emerging from increased economic interest in Arctic shipping and natural resources. As sea ice recedes and new maritime routes emerge, competition over access, control, and regulation is escalating. Speakers stressed that without adequate infrastructure and international cooperation, even non-military developments could present cascading risks to regional stability.
In a panel focused on hybrid threats, panelists described how gray zone tactics—disinformation, lawfare, and infrastructure sabotage—are already targeting the Arctic Maritime Transportation System (MTS). These indirect forms of aggression challenge traditional rules of engagement and demand new legal frameworks, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, and cyber defense strategies.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing also emerged as a flashpoint for future Arctic security tensions. Warming waters are expected to drive new fishing activity into high-value areas, with consequences for sovereignty, environmental protection, and Indigenous food security.
“Fisheries enforcement isn’t just a conservation issue—it’s a sovereignty issue,” a panelist emphasized. “If we fail to act, the vacuum will be filled.”
In closing remarks, Randy “Church” Kee, Director of the TSC, pointed to the operational and strategic clarity that MRS 2025 brought to Arctic maritime defense. As the Arctic continues to change—geophysically and geopolitically—our understanding of risk must evolve in step,” he said. “This symposium helps align the conversations we’re having today with the decisions we need to make tomorrow.”
He noted that deterrence in the region is not solely about force posture, but about reducing uncertainty for those who operate in contested and unforgiving environments. That means addressing cyber vulnerabilities, increasing situational awareness, and strengthening partnerships across the Arctic security community.
“If you get risk wrong, someone’s going to get hurt,” he said. “We need to imagine how to be more effective—understanding, categorizing, analyzing, and reducing risk—so those who are in harm’s way can return home safely and operate another day.”
MRS 2025 closed with a forward look to next year’s event, which is tentatively scheduled to by University of Houston. While the 2025 symposium adapted to a hybrid format under Chatham House rules, it left no doubt about the urgency and complexity of maritime risk in the Arctic—and the role of the TSC in leading that dialogue.
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2025 17:57 |
| Story ID: | 499351 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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