Tensions Rise as Russia Announces New Ships For Arctic

Russia will add nine new ships to its Arctic fleet. (State Department)

Russia expects to add another nine vessels to its Arctic fleet by 2024, according to a statement from Russian state shipbuilding company Rosmorport on September 16. Rosmorport Deputy General Director Vasily Stugov reports that these new ships, including the Viktor Chernomyrdin, will be among the most powerful in the world.

However, the new ships are only a small part of Russia’s increasing military presence in the Arctic. Under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, Russia has increased its military, political, and economic influence in the region since 2002. Although the Arctic is often overlooked as barren tundra and icy sea, control of the region’s untapped resources makes the area a point of potential influence in foriegn affairs.

The 30 km2 region accounts for 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil, 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas, and an abundance of rare minerals. With the development of new technologies and global warming melting the northern ice caps, the extraction, trade, and transportation of these resources is becoming increasingly viable.

Before Russia’s advance into the Arctic, countries mainly litigated territorial disputes through accepted international processes. Over the past two decades, Russia has asserted its dominance in the region outside what is accepted by existing global oversight mechanisms. Putin’s apparent motive behind this expansion lies in the importance of the Arctic to Russia’s economy, as the area accounts for over 20 percent of its GDP. 

American diplomats have expressed their concerns not with Russia’s exploitation of Arctic resources but with the country’s military activities in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently outlined his concerns over Russian and Chinese military ventures in the Arctic during a speech in Finland. 

“Moscow already illegally demands [that] other nations request for permission to pass, requires maritime pilots to be aboard foreign ships, and threatens to use military force to sink any that fail to comply with their demands,” Pompeo explained. Although Russia has not shown this naval belligerence in Arctic seas yet, Pompeo emphasized the country’s past aggressive behavior by citing Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the build-up of over 475 new military bases in the Arctic.

In an attempt to combat this militarization, Pompeo explained that the Trump administration is planning to strengthen America’s security, diplomatic, and military presence in the Arctic by rebuilding the fleet of icebreakers, expanding funding for the Coast Guard, and creating a new senior military post for Arctic affairs.

Although this rising tension in the Arctic has largely been kept in the shadows, the United States and Russia may be gearing up for a confrontation not seen since the Cold War.