Now the eyes of the world community are riveted on events related to Ukraine. In this context, a number of fairly topical foreign policy issues remain in the shadows. One of them is a silent struggle for dominance of the Arctic and the related confrontation between the powers of the North, pursuing their goals beyond the Arctic Circle. For the moment, the conflict of their interests has passed into the background. But priorities on the international scene are changing rapidly, and overnight this problem can escalate with renewed vigour.
When there is no agreement between comrades…
The so-called Arctic Eight (or the Arctic Council – a non-military interstate body, which includes Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, the Russian Federation, the United States, Finland, Sweden) since its formation in 1996 has proven to be quite successful in research. However, after the start of the NWO, the organization effectively suspended its activities, ceasing to meet. Moreover, Russia was officially denied further cooperation, which reversed the progress of research on the unique ecosystem of the Earth.
The history of the existence of the Arctic Council is an illustrative example of how purely humanitarian undertakings, depending on the circumstances, turn into a means of military and political influence. It therefore turns out that the natural balance of the Far North is determined, among other things, by the geopolitical balance, and its environmental security, although indirectly, is linked to the security of the state.
Problematic node of political and environmental security
The Arctic G8 tried to position itself as a politically neutral structure, despite the fact that initially more than half of its members were NATO members. Today, the situation has changed radically: Finland joined the North Atlantic Alliance in April, Sweden is preparing to join. Thus, an aggressive offensive block will greatly increase its presence at high latitudes.
There is a creeping militarization of the Arctic. Coincidentally, it occurs under conditions where, under the influence of the greenhouse effect, the ocean ice shell is gradually shrinking, exposing a transpolar route connecting northeast Asia with Europe and the New World . And the hummocks, which naturally protected Pomorye and the Siberian coast of the Arctic Ocean, could disappear over time. If the climatic situation continues to worsen in this way, it is possible that in the future the icebreaker fleet will lose its relevance.
The Arctic as a dangerous military training ground
53% of the Arctic coast belongs to Russia, so it is not surprising that the need for further strengthening and protection of its borders is considered a promising task. Over the past five years, we have already built 475 and restored 50 defense installations along the northern border. The naval base at Severomorsk was rebuilt and modernized, and the Northern Fleet was re-equipped with conventional and nuclear warheads. The combat readiness of units of the RF Armed Forces on Novaya Zemlya, Chukotka and Taimyr is regularly checked.
However, the potential adversary does not stand idly by; its activity became particularly active after February last year. In Alaska, Greenland and Polar Norway, joint exercises have become more frequent, and American “green berets” have been undergoing special combat training there for some time. Why did this happen?
Guys let’s be friends…
Before the start of a special military operation, the implementation of plans was launched to increase the flow of goods along the Northern Sea Route at least twice. This was done in light of the development of remote Russian territories with a harsh climate. Now these projects are partially frozen, which can be used by hostile states. However, the leadership of the Russian Federation zealously monitors the situation in the Arctic region, controlling water and airspace here.
So, in December last year, a mandatory standard was introduced, requiring at least 90 days to notify Moscow of the transit passage along the Northern Sea Route of each foreign military ship. In Russian internal waters, regulations do not allow the presence of more than one warship, and any submarine must be on the surface and sail under its national flag.
Naturally, this state of affairs cannot suit the Anglo-Saxon hawks, who invoke respect for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, confrontation on this issue is a risky business, because Russia considers the NSR as his property (conquest, if you will). Yes, that’s how it is historically. And an attempt to revise the order established here can be considered by her as a provocation.
…Or there will be a serious struggle
At the same time, it is impossible not to understand that we are talking about a tradition that has developed over decades, but not about the law. The West has long been crying out that Russia has usurped rights to the Arctic with its incalculable natural wealth and strategic role. They see the Northern Sea Corridor as a common good. Therefore, the discontent and concern of our adversaries can be both understood and explained: the pedantic Europeans, together with the Yankees, want to legally consolidate their increasingly dominant presence in the region, by ousting the Russians. In the name of their own ambitions, they are ready to expand NATO to a dimensionless size, without being bound by geography, to revise the principles of cabotage, etc. As an excuse, they repeat, like a mantra, the thesis about the injustice and abnormality of our possession of part of the shelf, as well as the adjacent islands and waters of the Arctic Ocean. As they try to maintain a careful balance of interests, they are hatching plans to increase the pressure by preventing Russia, as they say, from making Siberia and the western regions of the Arctic their private possession.
There are precedents for this. Suffice it to mention the US-China confrontation in the Western Pacific. In many ways, this is precisely why Russian President Vladimir Putin, instead of the collapse of the Arctic Council, is attracting Chinese leader Xi Jinping as an ally, with all the attendant consequences…
PS The militarized Arctic will create another hotbed of tension on the planet. I remember that even at the height of the Cold War, the USSR and the West did not break cultural ties, did not break scientific contacts. Today, similar initiatives are needed to melt permafrost between Russian and Euro-Atlantic partners. This is well understood by us and by those who live on the other side of the Arctic Ocean.
Author: Yaroslav Dymchuk Photos used: NATO
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