Today I read that Canada is partnering with Australia to develop an early warning detection system in the northern arctic. You can read about it here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/canada-early-warning-detection-arctic-1.7486640?cmp=rss

This article triggered a lot of thoughts in me. The first was about the time in the late 1970s when my husband and I were wandering about in the forests in the Northwest Territories near Pine Point. My husband worked for a mining company there, and we were wide-eyed newcomers to Canada and everything Canadian.

We had bought a Ford Bronco of which we were very proud and we were trying it out on the trails and forestry roads near the town. One day we came across a huge satellite dish in the middle of nowhere. I’m talking big-as-a-house huge. Bear in mind that this was in nowhere Northwest Territories, and a long way from any populations. Clearly, this was not for radio or television communications, but we didn’t know what it could be for.

Later, my husband asked his co-workers about it and was told it was the early warning detection system. Apparently, there were lots of these dishes in remote locations throughout the arctic, picking up signals from Russia, and Canadians were protecting all of North America from the Russian bear. At least, that is what he was told. We thought about this, wondered about it, shook our heads, and decided this was an issue far above his pay grade and definitely none of our business.

Even so, I have never forgotten it. I had never before had to contemplate international security or intrigue beyond the latest James Bond novel. This was too real.

Today, when I read the article on the CBC news website, all of those thoughts came rushing back. Then I saw the map. Please look at that article and that image and tell me what strikes you.

What struck me was that the nations that are geographically and economically interested in the northern arctic are all countries with which the US president has issues. Notably, Canada and Greenland, but also Finland and Sweden who have recently joined NATO. Russia, of course, is the elephant in the room. The US has a claim to this region via Alaska and as I look at this map I can see why the president is making Russia an ally.

Russia is not America’s enemy any more. The northern arctic has rare minerals that America needs, and the president makes friends that further his financial interests. Nothing else makes sense.

Now I’m wondering how Australian technology might impact all of this. One thing I would bet on is that it will not be compatible with Musk’s Starlink system. I just hope the dishes won’t be quite so big as they were in the 70s. I also hope that someone gives the Australians some good winter coats.