Fearing increased Russian military activities in the Arctic, the U.S. plans to appoint the first "Arctic ambassador" to promote U.S. policy in the Arctic and strengthen diplomacy, according to reports. Vedant Patel, the U.S. State Department's chief deputy spokesman, said Secretary of State Blinken will soon appoint an ambassador of the United States who will be in contact with Arctic rim countries and indigenous peoples. The new ambassador will replace the U.S. previously created position as coordinator for Arctic affairs, which is currently held by diplomat Jim DeHart.
Patel said peace and stability in the Arctic were of "critical strategic importance" to the United States. It has been reported that the US move reflects the growing strategic, commercial, and resource importance of the Arctic region.
↑ The Arctic region is becoming the "international stage" for military operations According to CCTV News
NATO Secretary-General:
A warming climate will make high latitudes increasingly important
NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg reportedly said NATO would strengthen its presence in the Arctic. He pointed out that due to the impact of climate change, melting ice will make high latitudes more accessible, and high latitudes will become more and more important in the future. Stoltenberg also called Russia's capabilities in the Arctic a "strategic challenge" to NATO and warned that "the shortest path for Russian missiles and bombers to reach North America is to fly over the North Pole."
Glaciers in the Arctic are reportedly melting under the influence of global warming. Shrinking glaciers open up new "sea lanes" and reveal vast oil and mineral resources. According to previous reports, the melting of Greenland's glaciers has led the rich to invest in "treasure hunts" in the region, and some American billionaires, including Bezos and Bill Gates, believe that there are enough critical mineral resources under the hills and valleys of Greenland's disco island and the Nusuak Peninsula that can be used to power hundreds of millions of electric vehicles. Russia has also previously announced the discovery of large amounts of oil in the Arctic, with resource reserves equivalent to 82 million tons of oil.
Konstantin Kosachev, vice chairman of the Russian Federation Committee, said that Stoltenberg's relevant remarks were a threat to Moscow's interests, according to the reference news network. Korsachev noted that NATO's military activities in the Arctic have more than doubled in number over the past 5 years. NATO members of non-Arctic countries, and even non-NATO members, are increasingly participating in this activity.
The Arctic is becoming the military "international stage"
The United States and Russia have stepped up their military investment in the Arctic
It is worth noting that if Finland and Sweden officially join NATO, seven of the eight countries in the Arctic Circle will be NATO members, which also means that Russia may face a "one-to-seven" situation. It is reported that after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the work of the Arctic Council has been suspended since March 3. But in June, the United States, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and other countries said they would resume the Arctic Council project in a limited manner without Russia's participation. Russian Ambassador to the United States Antonov said the decision adopted in Russia's absence would not be legal.
Previously, some analysts believed that the fundamental reason why Finland and Sweden were busy integrating into NATO was not the war in Ukraine, but in the Arctic. Kortynov, Russia's high representative to the Arctic Council, also said that the Arctic region is becoming an "international arena" for military operations. According to reports, in March this year, the US military practiced air defense integration operations for the first time in the Arctic, and personnel from the US Army, US Air Force and several other services participated in the operation to test the defense capabilities in the Arctic. On August 10, local time, Russia's Northern Fleet announced that it would begin military training in the Arctic region, mainly involving the naval aviation and air defense units of the Northern Fleet.
↑ U.S. servicemen train near Alaska
In fact, the United States and Russia have been increasing their military investment in the Arctic region recently. The U.S. Department of Defense's previously released National Defense Strategy for 2022 makes the Arctic a "defense priority," while Russia's new version of the Russian Federation's Ocean Doctrine identifies U.S. and NATO activities in the Arctic as a "major security threat."
According to August 10, NORAD said that Russian reconnaissance aircraft have entered alaska's air defense identification zone twice in the past two days, while the U.S. Department of Defense has urgently dispatched F-22 fighters to intercept it. This is the first time since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that Russian military aircraft have been reported to have been seen near Alaska airspace.
Red Star News reporter Li Jinrui
Editor-in-charge Tang Huan Editor Yu Mange
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