The Chinese Arctic is an Actual Thing
don't get distracted. they're not.
The Wall Street Journal has an exceptional article out titled, See How Russia Is Winning the Race to Dominate the Arctic.
That is an important topic, but something I’ll let you read about on your own, as that is not what got my attention.
While, yes, the pole-centered chart is useful to see why Greenland continues in the news, it is also important to understand how many natural resources there are in the Arctic.
Cheap energy drives the modern standard of living and will continue to do so for decades. Any technologies that might replace hydrocarbons for energy—if they can—will require rare minerals.
The Arctic is critical to all of it.
Russia isn’t the story here when it comes to the Arctic. Well, OK, they are a big part of the story simply because so much of the Arctic is Russian, but the future is not Russian.
The future, and the now, is Chinese.
Remember the Substack in October about the importance of Nome, AK and why we should have a full-time base there? Of course, the base would preferably be stationed with ice hardened OPV/Corvettes/Frigates/Cutters, armed to the teeth…and the Alaska National Guard should have at least two, preferably four, Typhon batteries.
Why Nome? Why Typhon?
Again, let’s go to the chartroom.
What does that have to do with China?
China has long sought a greater role in the Arctic, where the country’s leadership believes melting ice will open up economic opportunities but also increase security risks. In 2018, China declared itself a “near Arctic” nation and an “important stakeholder in Arctic affairs.”
Let’s stop a moment here and ask a very serious question. We can see two things below.
Where the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Arctic sea lines of communication are.
Where the PRC’s “research stations” are.
You would think that the PRC would want research stations where their economic interests are. Well, they aren’t… THEY ARE IN NORWEGIAN AND ICELANDIC TERRITORY.
Why are our NATO allies allowing PRC “research stations” on their land?
Yes, the Greenland conversation is fun, and important, but it is not the only Arctic issue that needs serious people giving serious thought—and action—towards.
Iceland investments by the CCP gets the added bonus of being immediately adjacent to the great circle route to/from any of northeast ports of the US and Canada to places like Rostock, Germany, Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway and Edinburgh, Scotland.
This is why maps matter. It is a shame that everytime the National Assessment of Educational Progress comes out it shows our student steadily declining in geography skills.
I'm rather more concerned about the Chinese 'research stations' in the north Atlantic