Tuesday, May 07, 2019

Who owns the North Pole?

This blog has comprehensively covered the struggle by the capitalist countries to assert their power over the arctic region. 

Continuing this ongoing process the United States warn other counties but in particular Russia and China, that American interests will not be threatened by them.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would strengthen its Arctic presence to keep in check what he called the "aggressive attitude" of China and Russia.

Pompeo said: "The region has become an arena of global power and competition. Just because the Arctic is a place of wilderness does not mean it should become a place of lawlessness," Pompeo added.
Surface air temperatures in the Arctic are warming at twice the rate as the rest of the earth, according to some researchers. Some experts say the ocean could be ice-free during the summer months within 25 years. The melting ice has made some of the earth's undiscovered reserves of oil, gas and mineral deposits more accessible. Environmentalists are concerned that the Trump administration is focused on exploiting resources and pushing back on Russia and China for strategic and security reasons at the expense of the Arctic's fragile environment. 
 China, which became an observing nation on the Arctic Council in 2013, has tried to boost its presence in the Arctic region. It has been one of the countries scrambling to claim territory as thawing ice allows for the exploitation of some of the world's remaining untapped resources. Last year, China outlined a plan for a "Polar Silk Road" as melting ice has opened up northern shipping routes. The US warned earlier this month of the risk of Chinese submarines in the Arctic.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-vows-to-check-aggressive-china-russia-in-arctic/a-48612809


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