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By Joe Edwards and Didi Kirsten Tatlow
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The Pentagon has announced an updated strategy for the Arctic region amid "growing cooperation" between China and Russia.
The Arctic Strategy, released on Tuesday, calls for increased military presence, intelligence capabilities and cooperation between the United States and its allies. It also highlighted climate change as a challenge as a thawing region made access easier for multiple actors.
"We've seen growing cooperation between the [People's Republic of China] and Russia in the Arctic, commercially, with the PRC being a major funder of Russian energy exploitation in the Arctic, and increasingly militarily, with Russia and China conducting joint exercises off the coast of Alaska," said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
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In the "2024 Department of Defense Arctic Strategy," the Pentagon said that America's Arctic infrastructure, mostly built during the Cold War, "faces degradation" due to permafrost thaw and coastal erosion.
Meanwhile, Russia was upgrading its military capabilities and China was seeking to get involved in Arctic governance—even though most Arctic territory was already
under the jurisdiction of sovereign states, the strategy noted.
The U.S. should strengthen its Arctic technological capabilities including with more satellites and data as well as intelligence gathering and sharing with allies, and should "build readiness for operations at high latitudes," it said.
The document emphasized the growing challenges from Beijing, which it said has included the Arctic in its long-term planning.
"Though not an Arctic nation, the PRC is attempting to leverage changing dynamics in the Arctic to pursue greater influence and access, take advantage of Arctic resources, and play a larger role in regional governance," the Pentagon said, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that the U.S. was distorting China's role.
"China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs. It has always participated in Arctic affairs based on the basic principles of 'respect, cooperation, win-win and sustainability,' strengthened cooperation with all parties, and is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Arctic and promoting sustainable development in the Arctic," Mao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
"The United States distorts China's Arctic policy and makes irresponsible remarks on China's normal Arctic activities in accordance with international law, which is not conducive to peace, stability and cooperation in the Arctic. China is firmly opposed to this," she said.
The Arctic has increasingly become a hub of strategic competition, with global warming opening up resource competition as ice recedes and new sea lanes appear, Ed Arnold, a senior researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank, told Newsweek.
As global tensions rise, the idea of Arctic exceptionalism—that the Arctic should be immune from geopolitical conflict—is "starting to fray," said Arnold.
Tensions between Russia and the U.S. have risen since Russia invaded Ukraine. With the accession of Finland and Sweden, seven of the eight Arctic Council members are now in NATO.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s naval vessels "have also demonstrated the capability and intent to operate in and around the Arctic region through exercises alongside the Russian Navy over the past several years," according to the U.S. Defense Department document.
The Pentagon also highlighted another key concern: dual-use research in the Arctic that has military as well as civilian applications. China's three icebreakers were enabling "dual civil-military research efforts in the Arctic," having carried out 13 research expeditions with the ships, testing "unmanned underwater vehicles and polar-capable fixed-wing aircraft, among other activities."
Anne-Marie Brady, a politics professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, told Newsweek that the U.S. was pulling its punches in the document.
"The U.S. government is clearly very concerned about China's military activities in the Arctic, though the declassified version of the strategy barely mentions the extent of it."
"The PLA drives China's Arctic policy, as they do their Antarctic policy. Access to the polar regions is crucial for China's military expansion," Brady said.
"China is using dual-use activities and partnering with Russia to expand its military presence and capability in the Arctic region. This directly affects U.S. interests, as well as all the other Arctic states, all of whom are also NATO states," she said.
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In addition to traditional security issues, the Pentagon's strategy—its first update for the region since 2019—also stated that the U.S. must improve its scientific capabilities in the Arctic for climate reasons: "Climate change is increasing the unpredictability of an already challenging environment, and there are limited sensors and data to aid forecasts and longer-term climate projections."
A recent investigation by Newsweek showed that China is increasingly making gains in Arctic science, sometimes via organizations that do not show their true military affiliation.
In light of the shifting dynamics, Deputy Secretary Hicks said the strategy adopts a "monitor and respond" approach in the region, "underpinned by robust domain awareness and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, cooperation with our allies and partners and deterrent power enabled by the agility of the joint force."
"The strategy focuses on enhancing our domain awareness and Arctic capabilities, engaging with our allies and partners and exercising calibrated presence in the region," she added.
"I think this is less about a brand-new strategy and a new direction of travel. Rather, it is just making sure that the [Department of Defense] as a full organization has a strategy as opposed to just the Navy," said Arnold of RUSI.
The U.S. Defense Department and Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to Newsweek's requests for comment.
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Update 7/23/24, 11:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and comments.
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