The old Cold War has not completely disappeared. It’s gotten colder — frozen, in fact. Russia is mighty active in the Arctic, home to untapped mineral, natural gas and oil deposits plus newly expanded shipping lanes. Indeed, Russia has recently resumed fighter patrols over the North Pole, bulked up northern air bases and tested the fearsome Kinzhal Dagger hypersonic missile in the region. Also on their to-do list: perfecting a fleet of ice-hardened shipping vessels and burly ice breakers — including the Arktika, a nuclear-powered vessel which is 568 feet long, has a crew of 75 and can crush through Arctic ice 10-feet thick. There will be four more in this class, and initial sea trials began last week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is betting big on climate change to thaw the Arctic” advises The Maritime Executive, an industry source.
“A power game is unfolding between great powers Russia, the United States and China that deepens tensions in the region,” said the Danish Defence Intelligence Service in a new risk assessment of the region.
All that said, a round of applause, please, for Sen. Dan Sullivan, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Security. The Alaska Republican recently convened a hearing to address “expanding opportunities, challenges, and threats in the Arctic,” with a particular focus on the role of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“The changes occurring in the Arctic are monumental,” the senator said, citing the existence of previously unreachable oil and strategic minerals, plus the increase of lucrative commercial activities. So. Is the U.S. lagging behind Russia and China?
Not content to dawdle, Mr. Sullivan is organizing a bipartisan push to ensure that the U.S. is a major player here. With Sen. Ed Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, Mr. Sullivan has formed the U.S. Senate Coast Guard Caucus — and will soon introduce the Strategic Arctic Naval Focus Act of 2019 — meant to hammer out a strategy to coordinate Navy and Coast Guard activities in the Arctic region.
“This isn’t a call for a giant Navy or Coast Guard base. It’s simply the ability to have an icebreaker or a national security cutter or a Navy destroyer to pull up to a port in America’s Arctic,” Mr. Sullivan noted.
The Coast Guard, meanwhile has already issued its own strategic outlook for the cold zone, with an eye on a “safe, secure, and cooperative Arctic.” Take a look at their mission at USCG.mil/Arctic.
HISTORIC INSIGHT
Other factors besides strategic minerals and shipping lanes are driving Russia’s activities in the Arctic.
“For Russia, in many aspects geography is destiny. It is very important to understand that the Arctic is an integral part of Russia’s identity and that Russia views itself as an Arctic nation,” Marya Rozanova-Smith, an Arctic researcher associated with George Washington University, tells Arctic Today correspondent Martin Breum.
“The Arctic is a great source of national pride in Russia and deeply rooted in its past achievements. What else does the Russian people have to be so proud of today?” she asks.
“The Arctic is the national resource base for the whole of Russia. Ultimately, it is not just about national pride, not just about identity or about the peoples living in the Arctic, but also about the country’s future economic prosperity” Ms. Rozanova-Smith says.
“More than 10% of Russia’s GDP and some 20% of all Russian exports are generated in the Arctic,” writes Mr. Breum, who refers to the Arctic as “the ice silk road.”
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