A coastal Norwegian town in the Lofoten Islands, above the Arctic Circle. Ships travel freely during the summer between Russian Arctic ports and Norway.PHOTO BY VIDAR NORDLI-MATHISEN

MELTING ICE CHANGES THE WORLD

North Pole

Sabetta port

Gwadar

Moscow

Lamu

Djibouti

SuezCanal

AthensIstanbul

Xian

BeijingDalian

Fuzhou

Venice

RotterdamNetherlands

NORWAY

IRAN

INDIA

PAKISTAN VIETNAM

INDONESIA

KENYA

DJIBOUTI

SINGAPORESRI LANKA

TURKEYGREECE

ICELAND

GERMANY KAZAKHSTAN

RUSSIA

CHINAITALY

Kolkata

Colombo

Hanoi

Jakarta

Arctic Ocean

Bering Sea

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

A whale dives into the sea next to icebergs off the coast of Nuuk, Greenland. The People’s Republic of China is investing in iron ore mining in Greenland in what some analysts believe is a strategic play to use Greenland as a staging ground in the global battle for Arctic resources.REUTERS

China’s Planned Polar Extension to One Belt, One Road

Claims

• The People’s Republic of China (PRC) referred to itself as a “near-Arctic state” in a January 2018 white paper.

• The PRC publicized that it wants to get more involved in Arctic governance and to “promote peace and stability” in the Arctic and extend its One Belt, One Road infrastructure plan into a “Polar Silk Road.”

• The PRC white paper talks about blunting the effects of climate change in the Arctic region. It states that the PRC wants to promote “environmental and ecological resilience.”

• Chinese authorities said they want to explore and use Arctic resources in a way that abides by international law, including treaties such as the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Cold Facts

• There are only Arctic states and non-Arctic states. At its nearest point, China is more than 1,440 kilometers away from the Arctic Circle. By using PRC logic, nations including Belarus, Germany, Ireland, Latvia and the United Kingdom would be near-Arctic states, according to a Heritage Foundation analysis. Arctic Council states consist of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.

• The PRC appears to be laying the groundwork for a military presence in the Arctic to protect its ability to extract resources. It is developing shipping lanes and has built or will build research stations in Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia. Noting the PRC’s growing fleet of military icebreakers, the Pentagon said in May 2019 that China’s military might use the civilian research stations to support a strengthened military presence and possibly the deployment of nuclear submarines.

• China is the top greenhouse gas-emitting country in the world and one of the biggest contributors to climate change, according to the World Resources Institute.

• The PRC already has shown contempt for international law by ignoring an UNCLOS ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague related to its militarization of reefs and atolls in the South China Sea.

China’s Questionable Arctic Claims

Arctic route

Overland route

Maritime route

Junction between different kinds of routes

NOTE: September is the end of summer in the North Pole when the frozen lid of sea ice tends to shrink to its smallest volume. Unlike Antarctica, there is no land under the frozen Arctic ice.

Source: www.zerohedge.com

At its nearest point, China is over 1,440

kilometers from the Arctic Circle

MELTING ICE CHANGES THE WORLD

As Arctic ice caps recede and shipping lanes open, a race breaks out for territory, resources

Thawing glaciers are moving more than mountains in the Arctic. As polar ice melts, more countries are staking claims to territory and resources. With eight countries controlling land in the Arctic Circle, the potential economic boom associated with increased shipping lanes and more easily accessible oil is leading to increased militarization of this long-ignored tundra. One thing is for sure, the melting of Arctic ice is changing the way the world will look for decades to come.

Five nations build, maintain military facilities to protect interests

Note: Map points indicate location, not size, of military presence.

Sources: Heritage Foundation, Reuters, Russian Federation Ministry of Defense, National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Norwegian Ministry of Defence, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Reduction in summer sea ice could create more transit routes

Abundant resources and large reserves of unused fuels lure stakeholders to the sea

Military Buildup Shipping Lanes Open Territorial Claims and Untapped Oil

RUSSIA

NORWAY

GREENLAND (DENMARK)

CANADA

U.S.

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Year Opened

C A N A D A

GR E EN L AN D( D ENMA R K )

I C E L A N D

U.S.

R U S S I A

N o r t hP o l e

N o r t hP o l e

NORWAY

SW

EDEN

F INLAND

ARCT IC C IRCLE

ARCTIC C

IR

CLE

K a r aS e a

K a r aS e a

E . S i b e r i a nS e a

E . S i b e r i a nS e a

B e r i n gS e a

B e r i n gS e a

B a r e n t sS e a

B a r e n t sS e a

G r e e n l a n dS e a

G r e e n l a n dS e a

N o r w e g i a nS e a

N o r w e g i a nS e a

A r c t i cO c e a n

A r c t i cO c e a n

N . A t l a n t i cO c e a n

N . A t l a n t i cO c e a n

Ice floating in Jokulsarlon glacial lake, IcelandPHOTO BY JOHN SALVINO

C A N A D A

U.S.

R U S S I A

C H I N A

G R E E N L A N D( D E N M A R K )

I C E L A N D

ARCT IC C IRCLE

ARCTIC C

IR

CLE

NORWAY

SW

EDEN

FI N

LAND

Bering Strait

Sannikov Strait

Vilkitsky Strait

NORTHERNSEA ROUTE

AmundsenGulf

M’ClureStraitNORTHWEST

PASSAGE

Countries must prove that their continental shelves extend more than 370 kilometers into the Arctic Ocean

to claim this area.

ClaimableArea

Exclusive Economic Zone

Areas with 50% or greater chance of large undiscovered oil and gas reserves

Current oil and gas fields near the Arctic region

N o r t hP o l eC A N A D A

R U S S I A

R U S S I A

U.S.

GREENLAND(DENMARK)

ICELAND

NOR .

NORWAY

ARCT IC C IRCL E

ARCTIC C

IRCLE

DENMARK DENMARK