US, Canada and Finland look to build more icebreakers to counter Russia in the Arctic WPXI [Video]

WASHINGTON — (AP) — The United States, Canada and Finland will work together to build up their icebreaker fleets as they look to bolster their defenses in the Arctic, where Russia has been increasingly active, the White House announced Thursday.

The pact announced at the NATO summit calls for enhanced information sharing on polar icebreaker production, allowing for workers and experts from each country to train in shipyards across all three, and promoting to allies the purchase of polar icebreakers from American, Finnish or Canadian shipyards for their own needs.

Daleep Singh, the White House deputy national security adviser for international economics, said it would reinforce to adversaries Russia and China that the U.S. and allies will “doggedly pursue collaboration on industrial policy to increase our competitive edge.”

Beijing has sought to tighten its relationship with Moscow as much of the West has tried to economically isolate Russia in the aftermath of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“Without this …