Our Arctic strategy will guide the Department's efforts to ensure that the Arctic remains a secure and stable region."
The Arctic will become one of the most important global energy channels in the future,
The US wants to confront Russia through the other seven Arctic Council member countries, so the US is worried that China will help Russia confront them,
I think this is less about a brand-new strategy and a new direction of travel. Rather, it is just making sure that the [Department of Defense] as a full organization has a strategy as opposed to just the Navy,
It's less about values and geopolitical concerns. It's more transactional,
The strategy focuses on enhancing our domain awareness and Arctic capabilities, engaging with our allies and partners and exercising calibrated presence in the region,
The Arctic is also a strategic area for our country. Russia takes a responsible position and contributes to ensuring that the Arctic does not become a territory of discord and a territory of tension,
While significant areas of disagreement between the PRC and Russia remain, their growing alignment in the region is of concern, and [the Department of Defense] continues to monitor this cooperation,
Major geopolitical changes are driving the need for this new strategic approach to the Arctic,
Russian-Chinese cooperation is never directed against third countries or groups of third countries, but is aimed only at protecting the interests of these countries (Russia and China)
Increasingly, the and Russia are collaborating in the Arctic across multiple instruments of national power,
We've seen growing cooperation between the PRC and Russia in the Arctic commercially, with the PRC being a major funder of Russian energy exploitation in the Arctic,
The United States distorts China's Arctic policy and makes thoughtless remarks on China's normal Arctic activities (which are) in accordance with international law,
The Arctic may experience its first practically ice-free summer by 2030, and the loss of sea ice will increase the viability of Arctic maritime transit routes and access to undersea resources,
All of these challenges have been amplified because the effects of climate change are rapidly warming temperatures and thinning ice coverage, and it's enabling all of this activity,
In the Arctic, the strategic can quickly become tactical,
We've seen an uptick, an uptick in their cooperation over the last couple of years,
We see them operating more regularly in the last several years from a military perspective. Even just a couple of weeks ago, there were several Chinese warships off of the coast of Alaska,
The Arctic’s vast distances, especially in North America, make supporting infrastructure vital for Arctic operations and presence,
Ensuring that our troops have the training, the gear and the operating procedures for the unique Arctic environment [may] be the difference between mission success and failure,