The U.S. military sees the Arctic as one of its pivot points in the new geopolitical “Great Game” against both Russia and China, but particularly China. Two senior Air Force officials said yesterday that they see Arctic operations as a deterrent to China, which, they complain, has staked a claim to the region as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, and increasingly as a base for operations in the Indo-Pacific, reported South China Morning Post.
Air Force undersecretary for international affairs Kelli Seybolt and Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements Lt. Gen. Clinton Hinote, discussed the strengthening of what Seybolt called defense relationships with “six of the seven other Arctic nations providing key strategic advantages,” excluding Russia, at a Wilson Center event in Washington, D.C. Russia’s military activities in the Arctic are understandable, Seybolt said, but she called China’s claim in 2018 to be a near-Arctic nation was a “kind of mind-boggling statement.”
“If I look at the map from above, I don’t see that, but they’re certainly moving to legitimize a role in the region as they continue with their … Polar Silk Road initiative,” she said. “This is the area where we probably need to be working with all of the Arctic nations to ensure that our common interests are protected.” Notice that the “threat” that Seybolt claims is coming from China in the Arctic isn’t military but rather economic, a point that was also made by Wilson Center director Mark Green at the start of the event.