Summary
In Kramer's article, "In the Russian Arctic, a Frosty Military Campaign," he writes about the Arctic ice around Russia getting to lower levels. He mentions that it is creating a new security issue for Russia and its opening up passages for other countries to maneuver in their water space which didn't occur before. Now it is causing Russia to respond with more Navy ships and military on their northern Arctic border, which is the largest Arctic border out of any Arctic nation. They brought anti-ship missiles to the region along with a barracks building that can accomodate 150 or so soldiers, and a runway for fighter jets. Russia has become the first military to act on strategic implications in the Arctic bringing equipment there and stationing soldiers in its Far North having the largest military presence in the Arctic Circle.
Now that this is occurring, it is creating problems for Russia since its entire history it was protected by the ice on its northern border. This is opening up a conversation of Russia requesting that new external borders be protected from potential aggressors. In a time of new conflicts this is a new area of potential conflict and unrest since other countries are starting to have ship activity in the area of open waters which was not doable in the past. Russia wants to use the open waterways as a potential way to make money as a toll road for icebreakers and pilots. They are also showing their military strength by showing they surfaced three submarines through pack ice and filmed the feat with a drone and posted it online. This is new encroachment in a mostly unthought of area of the world. A new frontier of conflict will potentially open up that does not need to be done and should be avoided.
One reply on “Week 3 Post”
Krste,
There can be no doubt that, thanks to global climate change, the Arctic is going to become highly contested waters. In years past, the so-called Arctic powers (meaning the countries that bordered the Arctic) cooperated peacefully. But the security paranoia of Putin’s Russia may change this. That said, the Russians are conflicted because they also see the potential revenue (as you pointed out) from commercial shipping traffic, which will not materialize if they heavily militarize the area. Shippers have long dreamed of a “northern route” because it saves thousands of miles and lots of fuel. And this is now becoming possible due to the retreat of the sea ice. It will be very hard to negotiate “rules of the road” with the Russians while they are simultaneously being sanctioned regarding their invasion of Ukraine. –Professor Wallerstein