The United States is planning to appoint an ambassador-at-large for the Arctic – reflecting the region’s growing strategic and commercial importance as its shrinking ice opens up new sea lanes and vast oil and mineral resources. “An Arctic region that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and cooperative is of critical strategic importance to the United States,” the US State Department said. “As one of the eight Arctic nations, the United States has long been committed to protecting our national security and economic interests in the region, combating climate change, promoting sustainable development and investment, and fostering cooperation with the Arctic states, allies and partners”. he said. The eight Arctic nations are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States. Russia has reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military facilities in the region, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, a day after visiting the Arctic, saying Russian capabilities there pose a strategic challenge to the 30-nation alliance.
“Polar Silk Road”
Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation,” has heightened Western concerns about Russian ambitions around the world. China, which describes itself as a “near-Arctic” state, also has ambitions in the region and has said it intends to build a “Polar Silk Road”. China has its sights set on mineral resources and new shipping routes as ice retreats as temperatures rise. In a statement on Friday, the State Department said President Joe Biden plans to highlight the importance of the region within the US government by appointing an ambassador-at-large for the Arctic region, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. He did not say who would be nominated. “The High North is strategically important for Euro-Atlantic security,” Stoltenberg told a news conference at an air base in Canada, noting that with the addition of Finland and Sweden, seven of the eight Arctic states will be NATO members. “The shortest route to North America for Russian missiles and bombers would be over the North Pole,” he warned. “This makes NORAD’s role vital to North America and therefore to NATO.” NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a US-Canadian organization.
“It questions our values”
Stoltenberg also raised concerns about China’s reach into the Arctic for shipping and resource exploration, with plans to build the world’s largest fleet of icebreakers. “Beijing and Moscow are committed to intensifying practical cooperation in the Arctic. This is part of a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests,” Stoltenberg said. NATO, he said, must respond with an increased presence in the far north and investment in new capabilities. He noted that climate change poses new “security challenges” that require a fundamental rethinking of NATO’s Arctic posture. “Climate change makes the high north more important because the ice is melting and it becomes more accessible for both economic and military activity,” he explained.
