Russia is renovating installations and building ports on the northern coast to gain control over the increasingly ice-free route. The US has warned that the country will receive aid from China. Russia is also building up its military presence in the region, says defense expert Dick Jandee.
Russia claims much of the north, and the US is concerned
“Russia realizes that it can make money on this route,” says Russia correspondent Joost Bosman. If the ice melts in summer, which is increasingly the case, the route will cut the distance between Europe and Asia in half. “So Russia claims most of that lane and expects transit ships to pay to use them.’
‘China takes a long-term view’
Unlike most Western shipping companies, Chinese ships already use the route, Boseman says. “They’re looking at it long term.” China is also investing in infrastructure such as fueling ships.
Growing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing
The Pentagon warned of this on Tuesday. “We’ve seen growing cooperation between China and Russia commercially in the Arctic, and China is a major financier of Russia’s energy extraction,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said.
Dick Jandee, a conservation expert at the Clinkendale Institute, says more ice is needed to navigate the trail. As a result, sailing along the Russian coast is now relatively expensive and not very interesting from a commercial point of view. Because not only do you have to pay the Russians, the insurance on the ships is also very high because the risks are high.’
Ice-free by 2025
If the entire North Pole becomes ice-free by the summer of 2050, that could change the situation, says a conservation expert. “Then you no longer have to go through Russia’s territorial waters, but through international waters. That’s still not a problem.’
However, the region will be an important geostrategic location in the coming years and decades, Zandee says. ‘The Russians don’t just hope to profit from it economically, they’re strengthening their military presence.’
Short distance between America and Russia
Additionally, the distance between the US and Russia is very short over the North Pole, making control of the region extra sensitive. For example, according to Jandee, Russia claims underwater mountain ranges, which according to Moscow are an extension of its own economic zone. “They can deny access to the United States on that basis.”