[Sweden]: Telephone Call to Norway

[Connor]

Government of Sweden
Löfven Administration

Security Classification: TOP SECRET
Document Classification and Security Act 1995​

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A telephone call is made from by the Secretary of Antarctic Affairs, Mattias Winblad to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
This telephone call is made in his newly-acquired private office where he cannot be overheard, the telephone line is encrypted and the Norwegians will not be able to communicate until a similar encryption level is met at their end.

@Odinson

 

[Odinson]

The Minister of War was presently on a telephone call with other military leaders around the world in regards to the situation in Iraq. However, the special relationship Norway had with Sweden warranted someone high-ranking to take the call right away. The highest-ranking military officer in the kingdom, second only to the King, answered the call on a secure line.
"Hello, this is the Chief of Defense, Vice Admiral Agnar Thorsen speaking. The Minister of War is currently on another call. How can I help you, sir?" he asked.
@Connor

 

[Connor]

Secretary Winblad smiles having received such a prompt response and greets the Vice Admiral with respect to his military rank.

"Sir, thank you for answering my telephone call, I should introduce myself... I am Secretary Mattias Winblad of the newly formed Department of Antarctic Affairs in Sweden. Are you aware of the current situation regarding Antarctic claims?"

@Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"If you are referencing the Antarctic treaty our two countries are signatories of, then yes, I am aware of it. If you're talking about something else, then you're going to have to forgive me, but the situation in Iraq has been occupying most of our minds in the Norwegian High Command. What is the situation, Mister Secretary?" he asked.
@Connor

 

[Connor]

"In part... yes. As of yesterday evening I received confirmation that Swedish Armed Forces had secured regional control of Antarctica, her waters and her airspace. Personnel bearing the uniform of the Swedish Armed Forces set foot on the previously untouched territory and planted the Swedish flag alongside the new Antarctic flag, this continent is now formally recognised as sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Sweden under His Majesty King of Sweden Cal XVI Gustaf. The government under Prime Minister Stefan Löfven rapidly formed the Department of Antarctic Affairs to serve as regional governance."

 

[Odinson]

"With the exception of Queen Maud Land, Peter I Island, and Bouvet Island, which of course are all part of the Norwegian Realm," he noted.
@Connor

 

[Connor]

"Exactly, that pulls me on nicely to the next subject. Currently Sweden is the only nation on the globe to have military presence in Antarctica. We recognise Queen Maud Land, Peter I Island and Bouvet Island as overseas territory of the Kingdom of Norway and will respect the land as such; foreign territory of a closely supported ally. I have emailed you a copy of a map of Antarctica drawn by my department earlier this morning as the recognised borders of Queen Maud Land, this comes with the territorial waters 22km from the coastline as defined by the Law of the Sea. Can you confirm that you're happy with these plans?"

An email is immediately sent with the attached photograph.

​

 

[Odinson]

"Thank you for the reassurance of your recognition of the Norwegian claim, Minister. I am not an elected minister of His Majesty's Government, I am just the chief military officer. However I feel comfortable in saying that Norway will continue to stick by The Scandinavian Antarctic Treaty of 1995. I am not a diplomat and cannot make official statements on the policy of His Majesty's government, but I know that the Norwegian Government is known for keeping its word. I'm sure that treaty should put down any concerns you may have about our neighboring claims. If I haven't been enough help, I could try to put you in touch with the Foreign Minister? I was worried that this may be a military matter, which is why I decided to take the call" he said.
@Connor

 

[Connor]

"Well it extends into a military matter. It's undeniable that there are a number of nations with an interest in Antarctica if not for research then purely for unclaimed land. The second our announcement is released we will see a huge influx of nations either coming to support our claims or gunning to take them away from us - I called to see if you had any plans for militarised defence of the region?"

 

[Odinson]

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments. "Please stand by Minister... I need to see if I can share some information with you. This will just take a few minutes," he said. The Swedish Minister was put on hold for five minutes, before the admiral returned to the secure call.

"I'm sorry about putting you on hold. I was just on an encrypted call with Prime Minister Frost and the Minister of Justice. What I'm about to tell you is classified as being above Norway's 'Top Secret' clearance. Only a few statesmen and leaders know of this place's existence, including King Oskar, the Prime Minister, and myself... The Norwegian Royal Navy has constructed a large military facility on Bouvet Island, capable of holding a well-armed fleet and thousands of soldiers and sailors. It's monitored by advanced radar on all sides of the island, and even has a runway for the Royal Air Force. The armed forces there are under orders to keep the base's existence secret, and are prepared to do so.

"The Prime Minister wanted me to underline that we have kept this information secret from most parts of our own government, and have yet to share it with anyone else, including Sweden. If this information were to make it to the press or the public, our only logical conclusion would be that it came from the Swedish government and..." he said, trying to be diplomatic, "that would have consequences for you, and the alliance between our countries. The cover story to throw off anyone with a 'Top Secret' clearance in the government and Norway's security services is that Bouvet Island has a lightstation under the Royal Lighthouse Service - even that is classified. Bouvet Island is not part of Antarctica regionally, but may as well be with it's proximity and isolation. So to answer your question, Mister Minister, Norway currently has the largest military presence in the world in that region."
@Connor

 

[Connor]

Secretary Mattias Winblad sits in his somewhat empty office, surrounding by half-emptied boxes and strange plastic plants gifted by proud family members as he listens carefully to the Norwegian. A small bead of sweat dribbles down the front of his forehead as he rapidly feels himself falling into a level of conversation he was grossly unprepared for.

"Vice Admiral, as you know Sweden has always been a very close ally of Norway and always will be. Your facility is safe with me. I think it goes without saying the Scandinavia combined has unrivalled control of the Antarctic region and I am confident we have suitable infrastructure to ensure the security of our sovereign territory. Our of interest, I understand the highly classified nature of Bouvet Island, but are there suitable levels of personnel from the Royal Air Force and Navy of Norway for rapid deployment should it be required? - With consideration to commitments in Iraq I am reluctant to announce annexation of the continent prior to the completion of the war in the Middle East to prevent a stretch of our armed forces."

 

[Odinson]

"Theoretically, we can deploy ground forces to Antarctica. The Bouvet Moun-... The facility on Bouvet Island is undermanned at the moment. However, we can deploy more assets there if necessary. We don't have any troops that are trained in Antarctic warfare... But our Navy can theoretically operate in the Southern Ocean. However, right now, sea ice nearly reaches Bouvet Island and we have no icebreakers. This is a very dangerous time of year to send any assets there. But we would be willing to assist Sweden in any way we can... I may even be able to make Bouvet Island available to the Swedish Royal Navy for refueling, but I would have to get back to you for that. The winter is incredibly dangerous when it comes to travel to Antarctica, though. What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked.
@Connor

 

[Connor]

Mishearing the Vice Admiral he continues the conversation...

"Bouvet Mound seems to be at the forefront of Antarctic warfare and will certainly play a role in the Scandinavian domination of both geographic poles. A huge amount of funding has been set-aside due to the identified military gaps in Antarctica including but not limited to deepsea monitoring, minesweeping, vessel recovery and icebreaking capabilities. Whilst the region is somewhat inhospitable I firmly believe that with intense cooperation between our forces we could see an Antarctic joint forces flourish ensuring our territorial security. I would greatly appreciate it if you could consider replenishment opportunities for Swedish vessels in Bouvet Island, even if it would require our own replenishment vessels taking the brunt of the logistical challenge in order to minimise the amount of eyes on your facility, safeguarding it's classified nature."

"In the summer months we have the capability for Air Force deployment in the region and I suspect, due to their own climate, this is when we could see Oceania nations retaliate to our annexation - are you prepared for this kind of hostility?"

 

[Odinson]

"I'd really like us to work together in protecting Antarctica - as natural allies in the north, we should be in the south as well. Now that you've told me of your plans, we will prepare for that kind of hostility. I assume that it will be directed towards Sweden, but as I said, we are obligated to defend your country if you are attacked. We plan on training troops capable of operating in Antarctic conditions, as well as acquiring icebreakers, and establishing some kind of base in Queen Maud Land as well as on Peter I Island if possible... We have more budgetary restrictions than Sweden does at the moment, but we have plans as well.." he said, before thinking for a few moments.

"You may not be the appropriate person to ask this, but I know that the armed forces and government have been meaning to ask your government of this for some time. We were hoping the Nordic Council would handle this, but with the loss of Denmark, I see no reason we can't discuss this directly. Do you think the Swedish government would be interested in jointly-operating a research center together? Because of odd budgetary laws, we are for some reason not able to share the running costs of a R&D facility, but you could just pay us a number of years in advance and we can both have personnel there, or some other kind of agreement?"
@Connor

 

[Connor]

"Thank you Vice Admiral."

"This certainly sounds like a good plan in theory, however it's of course way outside of the Department of Antarctic Affairs and would require careful consideration from those that sit much higher up the cabinet food chain. I will certainly pass this on though, how much do you think it would cost per annum?"

 

[Connor]

@Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"The is being built in a isolated location as we speak... We would require an initial lump sum of $250,000,000 followed by annual payments of $68,000,000... At least that's what the Ministry of Defe- War has in mind. This will require a more formal treaty. One of the details that will be covered will be the secrecy of the productions between our two countries, and how we will handle production rights. However, I don't think there is anything our sides will disagree on there. Does that sound acceptable?" the admiral asked.
@Connor

 

[Connor]

"This sounds acceptable but of course this kind of decision sits outside my jurisdiction, I will forward a memorandum to the Department of Finance and Department of Defence to liaise with you in the near future. On the subject of defence materiel however we are in need of an icebreaker to develop the newly established Antarctic Defence Force... an icebreaker with some law enforcement or militarised capabilities. My understand is that the Norwegian Coast Guard hold production rights on the 'Svalbard' icebreaker? Is this something you'd be willing to sell to us?"

@Odinson

 

[Odinson]

"Yes, we would of course be happy to sell the Svalbard-class icebreaker to our Swedish friends, so long as it is never sold or given to anyone else, other than us," he noted. "Would you like one, or multiple ships?" he asked.
@Connor

 

[Odinson]

@Connor