Melting ice in Arctic Circle has raised the focus for Donald Trump’s administration over the presence of china’s navy and its effort to strengthen its knowledge of the Arctic. According to the 2020 Nordic Report, China has made efforts to lay the necessary diplomatic groundwork to justify future military activities but creation of new sea due to melting ice could offer china’s submarines a clear path which could pose a military threat to the West.
US forces commander, Admiral James Foggo, said: “The diminishing ice coverage is causing competition to emerge in this new area”.
“The High North is attracting global interest with abundant natural resources and opening maritime routes that have not been navigable before”, Admiral Foggo added.
Pentagon in its warning also said: “The diminishing ice coverage is causing competition to emerge in this new area.”
“The High North is attracting global interest with abundant natural resources and opening maritime routes that have not been navigable before”, according to pentagon’s warning.
China’s president Xi Jinping released a fully-fledged White Paper on its Arctic policy in 2018 while including the Arctic sea routes in the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017.
Beijing has expanded its scope of scientific stations in the region which includes satellite receivers capable of tracking missile flights and listening to military communications.
But it was said, China’s growing economic influence in the Arctic is an immediate threat.
China’s reliability on sea routes for the majority of its food and energy imports makes it unique in being a continental power. Beijing has already applied to become a fully-fledged member of the Arctic Council, a right usually only given to territories in the region.
Sources within the council in which the UK, which has observer status – confirmed that giving a non-territorial nation a permanent seat would be “entirely unprecedented”.
It was said that even if it fails, China’s heavy economic investments in Iceland, and increasing interests in Greenland and even Russia, could sway council decisions.
Luke Coffey, of the Heritage Foundation, last year gave evidence before Congress on China’s strategic threat in the Arctic.
“What China wants is to turn at least one Arctic nation into a client state. Iceland has full voting rights in the council, is a NATO member and, crucially, one of four regional islands which form the Arctic chain of defense”, he said.
US embassy in Reykjavik contains 70 staff, compared to china’s 500 diplomats and staff. “This underscores the importance that China places on its presence in Iceland”, Coffey said.
China’s economic ties with Russia are also concerning.
While Vladimir Putin has no interest in allowing China greater Arctic influence, Russia’s weakened economy has led to China financing much of its offshore exploration.
Some of Russia’s first oil shipments have made their way to China through Northern Sea Route, which is becoming ice-free for navigation this year
“Russia is already China’s junior partner”, Coffey added.