Growing military cooperation between Russia and China threatens Arctic stability, according to the Pentagon’s 2024 Arctic Strategy, released Monday.
In 2024, Russian and Chinese navies held a combined exercise off the state’s coast in 2023. In response, the Department of Defense sent four U.S. Navy destroyers and two combatant commands to monitor 11 Chinese and Russian ships. That joint show of force was the latest of a surge Chinese and Russian navy ships operating in international waters near Alaska in 2022 and 2023.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic & Global Resilience Iris Ferguson told reporters Monday that China-Russia military cooperation is “somewhat superficial in nature still.”
“Flying in circles with one another briefly or deploying alongside one another is maybe good for optics, but we know that that’s not the same kind of in-depth cooperation that we have with our partners,” Ferguson said.
The growing military and energy cooperation between Russia and China is highlighted in the 2024 Arctic Strategy along with the effects of climate change like “rapidly warming temperatures and thinning ice coverage” as an enabler of increased joint work. The strategy points out melting sea ice as increasing “navigable” chokepoints in the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia and the Barents Sea north of Norway for Russia to take advantage of.
“While the climate is changing, it’s opening up sea lanes is opening up access, but it’s not currently warming to the point where it’s not noticeably harsh up in the Arctic,” DOD Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks said.
The DOD’s last arctic strategy was released in 2022 but “major geopolitical changes are driving the need for this new strategic approach to the Arctic,” such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, accelerating climate change impacts, and more Russia-China collaboration, the strategy states.
The Arctic region is seen by the U.S. “as an avenue for power projection” to Europe and the Pacific and vital to maritime economics and security. The Army has begun incorporating more specific Arctic-focused training and equipment as part of U.S. deterrence strategy in the Pacific.
Capabilities
The policy calls for the U.S. to invest in more technology for information sharing and infrastructure for its “monitor-and-respond” approach; working with regional allies and partners, utilizing Reserve and National Guard components, and indigenous local communities. It also calls for an increase in joint Arctic exercises with the U.S. Coast Guard, NATO allies.
DOD officials highlighted recent investments in the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s long range radar sites, Pituffik Space Base (formerly known as Thule Air Base) in Greenland, the archer based
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sensor network, cold weather all-terrain vehicles, commercial space architecture and more Arctic-focused personnel like the 11th Airborne Division. As of this summer, troops stationed in Alaska will have access to cold weather incentive pay to buy gear for the climate.
“Where we can lean into remote platforms, it can make a lot of sense,” Ferguson said. “However it’s really tricky to operate remote platforms due to weather and due to connectivity issues.”
Hicks also noted that the military has to ensure its technology and equipment can function in the Arctic just as it did with desert operations in the Middle East.
China
While China is not an Arctic nation, officials noted that its Navy owns three icebreakers which U.S. officials believe “are often operating under the guise of scientific research,” but are actually going to military use, Ferguson said.
The Chinese, officials said, want to “internationalize the Arctic and turn it into a bit of a global commons” for greater influence by taking advantage of regional resources, and playing a more important role in regional governance.”
According to the DOD, China’s 2018 Arctic Policy says that non-Arctic states, such as itself, should contribute to the region’s “shared future for mankind.” China’s “Polar Silk Road” has even included investments in infrastructure and natural resources, including in NATO territory. Deutsche Welle, a German wire service, has reported that China has invested in projects in Iceland and Norway.
“That’s concerning, given that it’s the only strategic competitor with the will and increasingly the wherewithal to remake the international order. That’s why you hear us refer to the [People’s Republic of China] as our pacing challenge,” Hicks said.
Russia
The Arctic is even more important for Russia The Kola Peninsula, which borders Finland, is home to its Northern Fleet and submarine-launched ballistic missile force. Russia is also investing in new military infrastructure and refurbishing its Soviet-era installations in the region, according to strategy documents.
With Russia’s maritime infrastructure, the nation could use it to enforce “illegal” claims for regulating waters along the Northern Sea Route between the Bering Strait and Kara Strait. This could mean placing “excessive requirements” on international vessels transiting the waters and threatening force against those vessels that don’t comply with Russian regulations, according to the strategy.
Russia has also signed an agreement with the Chinese Coast Guard for joint maritime law enforcement.