The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2015 25 According to a 2009 Kremlin strategy paper, the Arctic is to become Russia’s “top strategic resource base” by 2020. Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his desire to exert Russian influence in the Arctic. Possibly the most memorable image related to the Arctic in recent memory is of the 2007 planting of a Russian flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole. While dismissed as a stunt by the other Arctic nations, it made Russian intentions clear. In August 2015, Russia submitted a claim to the United Nations for large swathes of Arctic territory. (Other nations have done so as well.) Russia has also returned—very publicly—to many of the Arctic military and navy bases it abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union. A per- manent Russian military presence in the country’s Arctic areas is declared policy, as is significant control over the sea route north of the Russian mainland. According to a 2009 Kremlin strategy paper, the Arctic is to become Russia’s “top strategic resource base” by 2020. Russia also has its eye on the possibly immense stores of oil and gas resources in the Arctic; some estimate that up to 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas may be located in the region. Russia is not alone in building up its military in the Arctic, and is far from the only actor with designs on its resources. An arms race is certainly not imminent, but it is worthwhile to pay close attention to Moscow’s actions. Canada. With more than 100,000 Canadians living in the Arctic, Canada has the largest land mass of any country in the region. Canada has just finished its second term as chair of the Arctic Council, culminating in a ministerial meeting in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut province. Canada’s policy in the Arctic has been unusually muscular, with a strong emphasis on the military and sovereignty components of its overall strategy. In fact, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters in 2010 that while Canada has many priorities in the Arctic, including community, environment and governance, “all of these [other priorities] serve our No. 1 and, quite frankly, non-negotiable priority in northern sovereignty, and that is the protection and the promotion of Canada’s sovereignty over what is our North.” Canada has also been the most vocal in opposing aggressive Rus- sian moves into the Arctic, including the flag-planting episode in 2007. Canada’s military exercises in the Arctic have also become more frequent and longer in duration. The Nordics. The five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden—emphasize military strategy in the Arctic less than the other three Arctic nations, simply because none of their militaries are in any way comparable in size or capability. In fact, Iceland does not maintain a military force other than a coast guard. Instead, they have focused on resources (including oil and gas but also fisheries), strong cooperation on environmental, shipping, maritime and search and rescue issues, and cultural and community elements, including indigenous peoples. All five countries have, moreover, woven the Arctic into their own foreign and domestic policies to a significant degree, including strong domestic commitment to scientific research and environmental protection in the region. This is not to say that they speak with one voice on all issues. Diplomatic egos in Sweden, Finland and Iceland have been bruised by Denmark and Norway snubbing them in forming a “group of five” (together with Canada, Russia and the United States) within the Arctic Council on the basis of the five’s special status due to their exten- sive coastal areas within the region. But having had control of the Arctic Council for 10 years out of every 16, the Nordics are very important actors on Arctic issues. A titanium capsule with the Russian flag as seen moments after it was planted on the seabed beneath the North Pole on Aug. 2, 2007, by a Mir-1 minisubmarine during a record dive 2.5 miles beneath the surface of the Arctic Ocean. The voyage conducted studies of the climate, geology and biology of the polar region. AP PHOTO/ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN POLAR EXPLORERS