WASHINGTON — Building on an initiative that began during the Biden administration, the United States, Canada and Finland have strengthened their shared commitment to increase the building of icebreaker ships.

Representatives of the three countries met in Washington on Tuesday to sign a joint statement of their intention to leverage one another’s expertise and counter Chinese and Russian influence in the strategically important shipbuilding industry.

“Today is a major milestone in the race to secure the Arctic for all of our countries,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at an event hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard, where she was joined by Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, and Finland’s minister of economic affairs, Sakari Puisto.

Noem said the agreement marked “a

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