China And Russia Want To Rule The Arctic

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Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Breaking Defense: China & Russia In The Arctic: Axis Of Ambivalence

So are Chinese ambitions racing ahead of Arctic realities? "It seems the chickens are being counted before the eggs are hatched," Sun admitted, "but the Chinese position is, 'if the eggs are going to hatch, we want to make sure we're there to collect the chickens.'"

STIMSON CENTER: China and Russia are working together ever more closely in the Arctic, exploiting a policy vacuum in the US, an international panel of experts said here. But Sino-Russian cooperation is almost entirely commercial, focused on trade routes, offshore oil, telecommunications (most satellites don’t cover the Arctic), and tourism. A military alliance is unlikely given Russia’s deep ambivalence about China’s growing influence in general and their very different views on who should run the Arctic in particular: the eight circumpolar countries alone — including both Russia and the US — or a larger group that includes self-declared “near-Arctic” nations like China.

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WNU Editor: The problem with this Chinese dream of finding a passage to Europe while developing the resources that they believe are present in the Artic is that the ice is not cooperating. It is still there, and will probably be there for a long time.