"To achieve their objectives, they have to maintain a low-tension strategy in the north, so we see them acting professionally and responsibly in the region," rear-admiral Nils Andreas Stensones said on the margins of the Munich Security Council.

Russia is accused by many Western countries of conducting destabilisation operations and hybrid warfare, particularly in the Baltic Sea, for example by targeting underwater infrastructure.

The rear-admiral said that "Russian interest in the Arctic is mostly based on three ideas: They need to develop commercial routes in the high north, they need to develop energy infrastructure, (and) it's very important for the security of their nuclear forces."

"They have to keep an equilibrium between achieving their interests and tension with NATO countries," he said.

As for submarines, one of the strengths of the Russian navy, "the total number of sub vessels is slightly decreasing, but they are more efficient, more modern, discreet, hard to track."

US President Donald Trump has justified his desire to have greater control over Greenland by accusing the Europeans of not protecting the Arctic from Russian and Chinese actions.

But Stensones said the Chinese navy is not active in the Arctic.

"The Chinese are only active in space and cyber when it comes to the Arctic, we have not seen anything of other military activity," he said.

Instead, "what we see is an increase of the number of their scientific research vessels, mostly in the eastern part of the arctic, close to the Pacific side. In 2023, they had one research vessel of that type in the area, it was 3 in 2024 and 5 in 2025."

"We monitor that because Chinese research vessels are always dual use, for scientific purpose, but can also be used to pursue military objectives," he said.