New strategic shipping lanes and a number of natural resources have become accessible due to continued meltdown of the polar ice cap. And, while Russia and China have made the Arctic a strategic priority, the US did not mention it anywhere in its National Defense Strategy released in January. This lethargy in expanding strategic vision in this domain may cause the US to fall behind others in the race for exploration and influence across the area estimated to contain massive deposits of oil and gas. “The emergence of a new ocean did not fit into the budget…now we’re behind…if there was a major incident, we wouldn’t even be able to send ships there to handle it.” said one arctic expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Another expert from Pennsylvania State University spoke to Congress, saying “the Russians are actively monetizing their northern sea route and rebuilding their Arctic military capabilities…China declares itself to be a near-Arctic state and intends to jointly build a Polar Silk Road as a northern flank in its Belt and Road Initiative.”
Source: The next ‘cold’ war: America may be missing the boat in the Arctic
