"The statement adopts doctrine, tactics, procedures and information-sharing protocols for emergency maritime response and combined operations in the Arctic," the release stated on Friday. "It culminated two years of international collaboration, as working groups established strategies, objectives and tactics aimed toward achieving common operational goals in the region."
In addition, participants agreed to hold a live exercise in the Arctic later this year, following previous table-top exercises held in Iceland and Washington, DC, the release explained.
The release noted that maritime and environmental groups alike have stressed the need for closer international cooperation, as more Arctic shipping routes became navigable with retreating ice, opening access for shipping, energy and mineral exploration and commercial tourism.
The eight nations share overlapping territory in the largely undeveloped Arctic Ocean, with the United States claiming it has a justifiable claim to about 386,000 square miles of extended continental shelf off the state of Alaska, according to the release.
