China Asserts Arctic Dominance While America Struggles
Commentary
The heydays of the massive construction efforts of the Cold War American presence in the Arctic, such as Camp Century and Project Iceworm, are long gone. Meanwhile, while Chinese people are struggling with a stagnating economy, Beijing is spending money on its Arctic ambitions, such as building and operating multiple icebreakers, and establishing a new northern naval base with Russia and North Korea to add reality to its Arctic claim.
In a 2018 Arctic Policy, Beijing asserted, “Geographically, China is a ‘Near-Arctic State,’ one of the continental States that are closest to the Arctic Circle.” This is an expansive definition, with many countries potentially being able to assert the same claim.
The United States first established a formal Arctic Policy in 1971 after more than 20 years of extensive building in the Arctic,
