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File photo of snow-capped mountains and the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Svalbard | Image source: Reuters
Russia and China on Tuesday pushed back against U.S. warnings about increasing military and economic cooperation between the two countries in the Arctic. climate change More intense competition is opening up.
Russia has stepped up its military presence in the Arctic in recent years Several bases and airfields abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union have been reopened and modernized, while China has invested heavily in polar exploration and research.
“We are seeing increasing commercial cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and Russia in the Arctic, and China is a major funder of Russian Arctic energy development,” U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathryn Hicks told reporters July 22.
“Joint Exercise”
Military cooperation is also growing, with “Russia and China conducting joint exercises off the coast of Alaska,” Ms Hicks said as the department released its 2024 Arctic strategy.
“All of these challenges are exacerbated because the impact of climate change is rapidly increasing temperatures, thinning ice sheets, and it’s driving all of these activities,” she said.
Polar ice is melting rapidly Activity in the region is high as countries eye new oil, gas and mineral resources and shipping routes in a desolate region with complex competing territorial claims.
Also read: India’s Arctic Affairs
Moscow is heavily promoting its Northern Sea Route, an alternative cargo route for ships plying between Europe and Asia.
Both China and Russia on Tuesday defended their respective policies in the region.
Beijing said its actions were guided by the “principles of respect, cooperation, mutual benefit and sustainability”, adding that it was “committed to maintaining peace and stability in the region”.
“The United States has distorted China’s Arctic policy and made irresponsible remarks about China’s normal activities in the Arctic in accordance with international law,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning.
“A Place of Disharmony”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “doing its part to ensure that the Arctic does not become an area of discord and tension.”
He told reporters that Russia’s cooperation with China “contributes to creating a stable and predictable atmosphere in the Arctic” and that their actions are not directed against other countries.
Also read: The value of attributing extreme events to climate change | Explained
Washington’s Arctic strategy describes the region as a “region of strategic importance” to the United States, including “northern access to the homeland” and “critical U.S. defense infrastructure.”
It says climate change could lead to Arctic to have first ‘almost ice-free summer’ by 2030”
The strategy states: “Increased human activity will increase the risk of accidents, miscalculations, and environmental degradation” and that the U.S. military “must be prepared and equipped to mitigate the risks posed by potential emergencies in the Arctic.”
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