England-Norway Sign Defense Pact Targets Russian Submarines In North Atlantic

Submarine illustration. (He Junhui-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Britain and Norway have agreed to sign a defense pact to deploy their warships to hunt Russian submarines warning in the waters stretching from North America to Europe or the North Atlantic.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) has disclosed this military agreement or alliance to protect important underwater infrastructure such as cables belonging to the two countries.

The British and Norwegian military will monitor Russian naval activity in the waters between Greenland, Iceland, and England.

"Maintaining important infrastructure such as cables and underwater pipes, which channel vital communications, electricity and gas," the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement, Thursday, December 4, quoted from AFP.

Based on the pact, the two countries will operate a fleet of 13 British-made frigates on a "exchangeable" basis.

The defense pact comes after Britain's Ministry of Defense reported the presence of Russian ships in British waters increased by 30 percent in the last two years.

Norway is also ready, following its purchase of at least five Type-26 frigate warships from the UK worth USD 13 billion in September 2025.

The announcement of this defense pact coincided with a joint visit between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store to the British Royal Air Force base in northern Scotland.

"In the midst of this deep global instability, with more Russian ships detected in our waters, we must work closely with international partners to protect our national security," Starmer said.