Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday called for a massive international exercise in the Arctic in a speech before the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

According to the admiral, vanishing ice in the summer months has opened up sea lanes and attracted rivals to the region. 

 “The trade routes between Asia and Europe will fundamentally change in our lifetime due to the erosion of the polar ice cap. The Arctic becomes now an area of competition that we must think more deeply about,” he said.

Earlier, Gilday called for major Arctic exercises at a conference in London in May.

 “With Sweden and Finland joining NATO, eight of the nine nations of the Arctic Council are actually part of NATO. I think that over time we'll begin to talk more and more about the transpolar nature and interest involved,” he added.