Canada to Russia: "Stay out of our airspace"

[Vong]

In a move reminiscent of the Cold War, Canada has warned Russia to not enter it's airspace...even though they never entered it.


Russia hits back at Canada about bomber flights
Updated Fri. Feb. 27 2009 10:56 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Moscow hit back at Defence Minister Peter MacKay on Friday, calling the minister's comments about the flight of two Russian bombers a "farce," the Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported Friday.

The rhetorical sparring comes after two long-range Russian bombers flew near Canadian airspace in the arctic less than 24 hours before President Barack Obama visited Ottawa on Feb. 19 - an occurrence which MacKay called a "strong coincidence."

Two Canadian CF-18 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft and MacKay warned Russia on Friday to "back off" from flying near the Canadian border.

The incident has ignited a fierce debate about territorial sovereignty as European nations, Canada and the U.S. squabble about claims in the arctic.

But Russia sent a clear response to MacKay's warnings.

"The Canadian defense minister's statements concerning the flights of our long-haul aircraft are totally unclear," a Russian military source said Friday, adding that the flight was routine.

"The countries adjacent to the flight path had been notified and the planes did not violate the airspace of other countries. In this light the statements by the Canadian Defense Ministry provoke astonishment and can only be called a farce," the source told Ria Novosti.

At a press conference Friday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the incident happened on Feb. 18.

"At no time did Russian airplanes enter Canadian airspace but within 24 hours of the president's visit here to Canada last week we did scramble two CF-18 fighter planes from Norad (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and Canada command," MacKay said.

The jets took off from Cold Lake, Alta., to intercept the aircraft, which has been reported as either a Tupolev Tu-95 bomber or its newer sister, the Tu-160.

"They met a Russian aircraft that was approaching Canadian airspace and, as they have done on previous occasions, they sent very clear signals that are understood that that aircraft was to turn around, turn tail, and head back to its own airspace -- which it did," MacKay said.

CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said the plane was intercepted about 190 km northeast of Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.

"Obviously what they were doing was testing Canadian security knowing full well that all of our security attention would be focused in Ottawa around the president's visit," Fife said.

MacKay said similar incidents have happened in the past. However, he said the frequency of the incidents is increasing.

"For that reason, it puts the emphasis back on the importance of Norad, the importance of our being diligent in defending our airspace, exercising that sovereignty," he said.

"The most obvious way to do that is by using the equipment at our availability, using the existing systems that are there at Norad for this very purpose."

MacKay was in Ottawa Friday meeting with Gen. Walter Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff, and Gen. Gene Renuart, the commander of Norad and USNORTHCOM, to discuss Canada-U.S. military relations.

Renaurt said it was vital that Canada and the U.S. maintain "the solid, integrated air defence posture that we have."

Political fallout widens

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Russian intrusions are a "real concern" to his government.

"We will continue to respond, we will defend our airspace," Harper told reporters in Saskatoon.

A Russian air force spokesman said Friday that the flight was planned in advance and was part of routine patrols.

Canadian navy Lt. Desmond James, a spokesman at Norad headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., told The Canadian Press that the Russians include long-range flights as part of their training.

"On our part, we go up to make sure they know that while they are doing their training, we do know that they're there and we are watching, prepared to respond should they decide that they're going to alter their course in a threatening manner," James said.

"We have to let the Russians -- any aircraft -- know that we are in a position to respond."

Norad spokesperson Michael Kucharek said it is not atypical to see Russian aircraft engaging in training exercises so close to Canadian airspace.

"This has happened quite often, this is a pattern that we generally see through Russian exercises of this type," he told CTV Newsnet on Friday afternoon.

He estimated that Norad had seen Russian fighters undertaking similar training exercises at least 20 times "over the course of the last couple of years."

During the Cold War, Russian aircraft frequently entered into North American airspace and were often escorted back to international air space by Canadian and American jets.

Brewing international dispute

After the Soviet Union collapsed, the flights were suspended but have resumed in recent years as Russia tries to push its claim on the Arctic.

In total, five countries claim parts of region -- Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and the United States.

Canada has claimed the Northwest Passage.

"The Russians have been very strict about following international rules but they're going right up to the limits," Rob Huebert, with the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, told CTV Newsnet Friday.

"If in fact we see the Americans pushing us on the Northwest Passage and ultimately somehow it becomes accepted that it's an international strait I would suspect you'd be seeing Russian bombers coming through the Northwest Passage."

Last summer, then-foreign affairs minister David Emerson said recent actions of Russia in the Far North were of "great concern" to the government.

He said Canadian officials had "seen much increased activity in terms of Russian overflights of Canadian airspace."

Emerson also said the Americans were seeing the same thing around Alaska.



It's just coincidence that the Russian bombers appeared before Obama's visit to Canada. But Mackay and Harper are acting like Russia is preparing to attack them. Russia is merely flexing (what's left of) its political and military muscle.

Though it looks like Russia's claim to the arctic is getting heated up. Too bad though. They can bitch, moan and plant little flags on the seabed all they want. The Northwest passage is in Canadian territory.

[outsyder]

Although this is now merely an uncommon occurence by now, these flights, abandoned since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, were once again resumed in 2007. Although Russia is not the power they once were, Putin is attempting to drastically expand the military, which is something that should be heeded.

Putin is directly challenging NATO with these maneuvers, as well as measuring responses, all in preparation for grabbing Arctic territory. I don't think this will lead to all out war, obviously, but this is only the beginning of aggressive political jockeying between Russia, Canada, and the United States, who in this case will not be unconditional supporters of its NATO ally.

[Homyrrh]

Well, FYI, a Tu-95 Bear is a 53-year old prop bomber... but this incident, coincidence or not, it isn't exactly the first time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu-95):

April 2002 — two Tu-95 Bear H aircraft flew within 37 miles of Alaska, and were intercepted by two F-15s.

29 January 2004 — a Tu-95 flew over the USS Kitty Hawk in the Sea of Japan.

29 September 2006 — NORAD scrambled Canadian CF-18s from CFB Cold Lake in Central Alberta and American F-15s out of an airbase in Alaska to intercept "a number of the Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers participating in an annual Russian air force exercise near the coast of Alaska and Canada." This launch was a result of the bombers penetrating the North American Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

May 2007 — the Royal Air Force scrambled two Tornado fighters from RAF Leuchars in Scotland to intercept a Tu-95 observing the Royal Navy exercise Neptune Warrior.

17 July 2007 — two Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s (from Bodø, Norway) and subsequently two RAF Tornados (from RAF Leeming, England) intercepted two Tu-95s as they allegedly made their way down the Norwegian coast towards Scotland.

August 2007 — two Tu-95s flew towards the U.S. base on Guam, where they were intercepted by U.S. fighter planes. Maj Gen Pavel Androsov of the Russian Air Force told a news conference, "We renewed the tradition when our young pilots flew by Guam in two planes. We exchanged smiles with our counterparts who flew up from a U.S. carrier and returned home." However, the Pentagon denied that any aircraft were sent up, saying that the proximity of the bombers was not close enough to prompt a response from the carriers.

17 August 2007 — two RAF Typhoons were launched to intercept and shadow a Tu-95 that had veered towards British airspace over the North Sea. The Tu-95 later turned away from UK airspace.

5 September 2007 — six Russian bombers were intercepted by six F-15s from Elmendorf Air Force Base, about 50 miles from the northwest coast of Alaska.

6 September 2007 — Two Norwegian F-16s tracked eight Tu-95s over the Barents Sea as they neared Norwegian airspace. The bombers flew past Norway and continued towards British airspace where four RAF Tornados were scrambled from RAF Leeming (in two waves of two), before the Russian planes turned away.

It was the same day that Canadian Forces' CF-18s and Russian Tu-95s met outside Canadian airspace near Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The CF-18s were scrambled when Tu-95s were seen flying outside Canadian airspace.

22 November 2007 — F-22A Raptors of the 90th fighter squadron performed their first intercept of two Russian Tu-95MS 'Bear-H' bombers in Alaska. This was the first time that F-22s had been called to support a NORAD mission.

9 February 2008 — 24 aircraft including F-15 Eagles and an E-767 AWAC from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled and gave "a notice, then a warning and another notice and a warning," as a Russian Tu-95MS 'Bear-H' violated the country's airspace during a three-minute flyover of Sofugan in the Izu Islands. Japan formally issued a strong protest, demanded prevention of future incidents and presented a protest note to the Russian Embassy in Tokyo. Russian officials conversely stated that four Tupolev Tu-95 bombers completed a 10-hour mission over the Pacific on Saturday, but "our strategic aviation planes did not violate Japanese airspace."

9 February 2008 — in the Western Pacific, a Russian Tu-95 flew over the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz twice, at a low altitude of about 2,000 feet, while another bomber circled about 58 miles out. Four American F/A-18 fighters from the carrier were scrambled and tracked the bombers.

5 March 2008 — Off the eastern coast of South Korea, a Russian Tu-95 flew over USS Nimitz and was intercepted by two F/A-18 Hornets at an altitude of 2,000 feet at a distance of about 3-5 miles. Four South Korean F-16s were also scrambled to intercept the bomber.

26 March 2008 — Off the coast of Alaska, Two U.S. Air Force F-15s escorted two Russian Bear long-range bombers out of an air exclusion zone.

24 April 2008 — Two Tu-95 bombers from Engels-2, along with two Il-78 refueling aircraft, were escorted by NATO Tornados and F-16s over the Atlantic. One inflight refueling was witnessed during the escort.

13 May 2008 — Two Tu-95 bombers from Ukrainka air base conducted a 20 hour patrol over the Arctic Ocean, and were at one point refueled by Il-78 refueling aircraft.[32][33] NORAD tracked the bombers as they entered the Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). CF-18s intercepted and confirmed their identity as the bombers headed towards the Alaskan airspace.

27 January 2009 — Two Tu-95 flew patrol over the Arctic Ocean and near Alaska. They were accompanied by four USAF F-15 fighters for about 10 minutes.

4 February 2009 — Two Tu-95MS were intercepted by a RDAF F-16 when approaching Danish airspace.

18 February 2009 — With national security focused on Ottawa in advance of President Obama's first foreign trip since his inauguration, two Tu-95MS were intercepted by two CF-18 fighters when approaching Canadian Arctic airspace. The Canadian government said the Russians gave no prior warning of the flights, despite repeated requests for prior notice. The Russian air force said the flight had been planned as part of routine patrols, and that crew acted according to international agreements and did not violate Canadian air space

[gayzilla]

Aren't Canada and Russia currently fighting over exactly where that border is anyway. With both trying to claim the North pole and all that frigid ice up there.

[outsyder]

The true North Pole is under water. Magnetic North is on Ellesmere Island, which is uncontested Canadian territory.

[gayzilla]

Russia kick-started the world's last colonial scramble today when a submarine planted a flag under the North Pole to symbolize the Kremlin's claim to the oil-rich Arctic.

In an unprecedented and perilous mission, veteran Arctic explorer Artur Chilingarov descended 14,000 feet in a three-man deep sea submersible and dropped a Russian tricolor cast in titanium onto the seabed.

"The landing was smooth, the yellowish ground is around us, no sea dwellers are seen," he said in a radio message to crew members on the surface, according to a Russian news agency.

With Russia's northern rivals, all eager to extend their own Arctic ambitions, looking on uneasily, two Russian ships reached the North Pole after ploughing their way through deep ice for over a week.

They released two mini-submarines, Mir 1 and Mir 2, which arrived at the seabed this morning.

In a nation that, in Soviet times, pioneered Arctic exploration, Mr Chilingarov's expedition has fired the Russian public's imagination.

But Mr Chilingarov also caused international concern after declaring that the Arctic and the North Pole were Russian.

Global warming has given renewed impetus to the race for control of the Arctic.

Melting ice sheets could open up the fabled North East passage, the quest for which claimed countless sailors' lives, for the first time.

The route, which could dramatically cut the length of a journey from Europe to Asia, could become navigable to commercial traffic within eight years.

The more clement conditions make for an equally tantalizing prospect.

According to some estimates, the Arctic is home to a quarter of the world's untapped energy reserves - now more accessible than they ever have been.

For all Mr Chilingarov's posturing, his expedition is little more than a public relations stunt designed by the Kremlin to attract public support for Russia's long held claim to a 463,000 mile chunk of the Arctic - about half the size of Western Europe.

The Kremlin has long believed the territory belonged to Russia - it was marked as such on Soviet maps from the 1920s.

But in 1997, Russia ratified the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea, which limits the five nations on the Arctic Ocean Russia, Norway, Canada, the United States (through Alaska) and Denmark (through Greenland) to 200 miles of territorial waters.

But under the treaty, the five nations are allowed to file claims to a UN commission for greater territory if they can prove that their continental shelves are geographically linked to the Arctic seabed.

In 2001, Russia became the first country to file a claim, arguing that the underwater Lomonosov ridge was not merely a chain of mountains in international waters but was actually an extension of Siberia's continental shelf.

The commission, however, was not convinced and asked for seismology reports and sonar measurements to support Russia's submission.

After a six week expedition that ended in June, Russia's Institute of Ocean Geology maintained it had a vital breakthrough - a claim that prompted Mr Chilingarov to set off on his patriotic mission.

But the institute warned that Russia was still along way off presenting a credible claim, saying it would not be in a position to do so until 2010 at the earliest.

"It would be far fetched to claim at this point that the evidence we have gathered is conclusive,” said Georgy Cherkashev, the institute's deputy director.

“There is progress in that direction but I would be cautious until the data has been properly processed and analysed.”

Even so, the development has galvanized other Arctic nations into action. Denmark is to submit its own claim and Canada has announced it will build eight armed ships capable of cutting through the ice.

Both countries are also expected to study the Lomonosov Ridge, which runs through Greenland to Canada's Ellesmere Island.

The area is believed to have up to 10 billion barrels of oil.

With the United States and Norway also having filed claims, the prospect for bitter territorial disputes has been raised. Russia, however, remains quietly confident.

The territory it seeks is a triangle running from the country's western Kola Peninsula in the West to the Chukotka Peninsula in the East with the Apex running through the Pole itself.

Even if the sector is not awarded to Russia, it is unlikely any other country could seize it. If Russia is successful, however, its already mighty energy reserves would be given a massive boost - although there is still doubt about the technical feasibility of extracting oil and gas from the Arctic.

Despite growing concerns over the way Moscow uses its energy for political gain, Russian scientists have repeatedly pledged that there is no intention to grab any part of the Arctic.

"A unilateral annexation of the area by Russia is impossible,” said Viktor Posyolov of the Russian Institute of Ocean Geology, which has led the Arctic exploration. “We will strictly abide by the UN convention.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1559264/Russian-submarine-plants-flag-at-North-Pole.html