Why Iceland Has No Military and Its International Security Alliances Explained

CNN Indonesia

Thursday, 11 Jan 2024 16:54 IWST

Illustration. Canadian Army. (AFP/Gints Ivuskans)

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

Iceland is one of the countries in the world that does not have a military. This Nordic country has not had an army since 1869.

According to the official website of the Icelandic government, this country does not have a military because it is already a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

NATO is a military alliance of Western countries which was founded in 1949. This alliance consists of 31 countries namely Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

In security matters, Iceland emphasizes a comprehensive and multilateral approach. According to the country, the concept of security is no longer limited to territorial defense, but is “much broader and includes new challenges.”

Iceland believes that security problems such as terrorism, cyber threats and human trafficking can only be overcome through active international cooperation.

“The struggle for human rights and women’s empowerment, peace and disarmament have a high priority in Iceland’s foreign policy,” said a statement on the Icelandic government website.

“It is these values ​​that the Icelandic Government wants to emphasize in international cooperation, values ​​that the Icelandic Government has also adopted as an international commitment,” continued the statement on the government’s official website.

Reporting from the NATO website, Iceland has a number of troops even though it does not have an army, including a coast guard, national police force, air defense system and volunteer expeditionary peacekeeping force.

Since 1951, Iceland has also benefited from a long-standing bilateral defense treaty with the United States.

In 2006, US troops withdrew but the two defense agreements remained in effect.

Two years later, aka in 2008, air monitoring was carried out periodically by NATO allies.

(blq/bac)

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2024-01-11 09:54:18
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