…Threats in the Arctic Ocean
"Last month the American, Danish, and Greenlandic governments announced a new approach to their partnership in the Arctic. They signed an agreement that acknowledged the "security challenges in the Arctic and the High North posed by adversaries' increased military and growing strategic interest in the region." It effectively named Russia, without naming Russia – America's unrivaled Arctic adversary. The Greenland deal should be seen as a strategic signal: the US will treat the Arctic as part of the Western Hemisphere and thus part of the US's legitimate security buffer. Meanwhile, Russia seeks to maintain its "sphere of influence" over miles of ocean covered in sea ice, a promising zone for future resource extraction.
A stretch of international waters spanning over one million square miles, the Central Arctic Ocean is an emerging zone of international conflict. In 2017, ten countries – including the United States and Russia – agreed to ban commercial fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean between 2021 to 2037 to study its sustainability. Future international fishing risks provoking a tit-for-tat dynamic, especially with Russia. Melting ice is revealing a new arena for great power competition, as Moscow and Washington scout lucrative opportunities for fishing, shipping, and deep sea mining and navigate conflict over the Russia-Ukraine War.
The stakes seem high. Will these frozen-but-melting waters become a catalyst for a "new Arctic order" where states can assert illegitimate authority over resource zones by threatening military escalation? Such a possibility threatens core international maritime norms, including the freedom of the seas, sustainable fishing, multilateral transparency, and military cooperation. As the United States repositions itself to be a greater Arctic player, the US government must consider how much it is willing to invest to compete with Russia and protect these traditional maritime mores and laws…"
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Armand
