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Immagine del redattoreNicola Iuvinale

Report. Beijing's confidential plans to take over the "roof of the world": the Arctic. The weak points. How the United States and its allies can counter them

The Arctic war is coming. It's an open fight for the new shipping route and booty under the ice.


Gabriele Iuvinale and Nicola Iuvinale - November 2024


Key Points

  • As global warming accelerates, the strategic value of the Arctic region in terms of geography, shipping routes, energy sources, and for military purposes continues to grow, and because of this, various state actors are competing with each other to “rule” the Arctic. 

  • Currently, although there are no obvious conflicts in the Arctic region, the geopolitical environment is extremely vulnerable to extraterritorial security incidents and faces security risks such as the escalation of military confrontation, the suspension of the multilateral cooperation system, and the haphazard development of energy shipping routes.

  • A recent paper titled “China's participation in Arctic governance cooperation: Policy optimization, practice development and advancement ideas” by Zhang Weipeng of the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing deserves special attention because, “it systematically examines the progress of China's conceptual policy, technical level and international cooperation in the field of Arctic governance cooperation.” 

  • This document confirms the fears repeatedly reported by Extrema Ratio. Furthermore, China proactively publishes university research results in various scientific journals to make them “fait accompli.” 

  • China has over the past decade significantly heightened its focus on the Arctic. The country officially defines itself as a so-called near-Arctic state and its Arctic policy document adopted in 2018 specifically highlights research and climate change.

  • At the same time, the country’s Arctic drive is perceived with growing concern among several Arctic countries. The Nordic countries, Canada and the U.S all see China as a looming security threat and are increasingly keen on restraining its activities in the region.

  • In its latest annual report, the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) devotes a separate chapter to the Asian nation and mentions the word “China” as many as 125 times. The Arctic is increasingly a priority region for Beijing, the report titled Focus 2024 reads.

  • Just as the invasion of Ukraine had an impact on the Arctic, so will activity in the area spread to other parts of the world. If the United States intended to deal properly with China, it should turn its gaze to Russia in the Arctic.


    Citation

    Nicola and Gabriele Iuvinale, “Beijing's confidential plans to take over the "roof of the world": the Arctic. The weak points. How the United States and its allies can counter them”, ExtremaRatio, 2024.


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