China’s first Arctic
satellite ground station
opened in January 2019,
and is meant to improve
global satellite
data reception.
Potential military applications
of its new satellite base
is a US concern.
The U.S. has objected to
a growing Chinese presence
in the Arctic.
The Arctic Council is the main
intergovernmental forum
on Arctic affairs.
Its mandate
does not cover
security issues.
Diplomats gathered in Rovaniemi
were surprised by the U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
recent speech to the Arctic Council.
Pompeo sharply warned against
China’s increasing economic activity
in the Arctic, and the potential
militarization of its projects.
The China Iceland Joint Arctic
Science Observatory, paid for
by the Chinese government,
was welcome, according to
Halldor Johannsson, vice-chair
of the new research facility,
located in Northern Iceland.
Originally meant to monitor
the northern lights,
the Observatory was
inaugurated October 2018.
In Greenland, Chinese companies
are involved in six different projects,
including a partnership with the
Australian company to extract
uranium and rare earth minerals.
Greenland is a
sparsely populated,
but large, island.
It relies on aviation
for the transport
of goods and people.
In 2017, two Chinese
construction companies
applied for a
government tender
to build three airports.
That sparked fear
of a Chinese takeover
in the Danish Parliament
-- so Denmark offered
to finance the projects.
In 2014,
President Xi Jinping
said China’s wanted
to become a
‘polar great power’.
In January 2018,
the US State Council
Information Office
released a white paper:
‘China’s Arctic Policy’.
The paper calls for
international cooperation
to develop a
new shipping route
through the Arctic.
The "Northern Sea Route"
would cut 15 days of the
shipping time and allows ships
to navigate northern
Russian waters to enter
the seas of Western Europe.
Since 2013, Chinese
shipping company COSCO
conducted 22 commercial
voyages, and its cargo volume
is predicted to increase.
China is also involved in a
Sino-Russian joint venture
in Yamal, Russia, to extract
liquified natural gas.
The Arctic
is a "barometer"
for climate change.
Rising sea levels could flood
Chinese coastal regions,
including its industrialized
Pearl River Delta.
The Arctic is governed
by a patchwork of
international treaties.
favoring Canada,
Denmark, Russia,
Norway and the
United States,
since 2008.
The 2008
Ilulissat Declaration,
allowed this group
to assert its rule
in Arctic affairs,
preventing the creation
of a more comprehensive
Arctic Treaty,
without its approval.
China, Japan, and Korea
have held yearly summits
on Arctic cooperation
since 2013.