Gravitas Plus: The deadly quest for Arctic dominance

in the 19th century western nations carved up the global map according to age-old rules of sovereignty the first country to plant the flag would control all the resources as long as it could defend it that era may be long gone but the tactics still persist just look at the arctic this desolate region frozen all year round is at the center of a new power play a new scramble for influence russia china america canada norway none of them control the arctic all of them want to they're racing to take control they wish to carve new maritime borders and establish their sovereignty in the region the question is why and the answers are many hello and welcome to gravitas plus i am ice caps are melting the seascape is changing rapidly this map tells you the story in the last four decades the arctic's ice sheets have declined by a stunning 95 percent if emissions continue to rise unchecked the arctic could be ice-free by the summer of 2040. for most of the world melting ice means a disaster but for arctic nations it also means new opportunities access to a brand new ocean with brand new resources what kind of resources listen to this 13 of the world's undiscovered oil 30 percent of the world's undiscovered gas and abundance of uranium gold diamonds rare earth minerals and fisheries galore all up for grabs here's what a 2018 survey said the arctic could hold 90 billion barrels of oil 669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids they're all hidden beneath the arctic their cumulative worth could run into trillions of dollars and that's just one aspect the melting ice would also create new sea route shortcuts that will be tempting time savers they could reduce the distance between europe and asia by 40 percent allow me to explain typically a ship from rotterdam to japan would use the swiss canal and take 30 days once the arctic ice melts the new roots emerge the distance is going to shrink the rotterdam japan trip would take just 18 days this could help shipping companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions it could also bring clout to countries looking for a competitive edge i'll try to further simplify this every year more than fourteen thousand ships transit the panama canal more than twenty thousand ships use the swiss canal in egypt how many ships pass through the arctic fewer than 100 this number could increase when the ice sheets disappear this would save both time and money not to mention smooth and global trade you might remember the ever given fiasco a single ship stranded the swiss canal it halted international trade for weeks the arctic faces no such challenges without ice there are no canals the roots cannot be blocked not by ships at least this will bring more resilience to the global shipping infrastructure so to put it simply in the coming years the arctic is going to be of great strategic importance which is why countries are vying for influence here there are at least eight of them canada the united states russia finland norway sweden iceland and denmark they all have territories within the arctic with overlapping claims of economic sovereignty for a long time these claims did not transform into disputes thanks to a united nations convention this convention granted all eight countries equal rights exclusive economic zones up to 200 miles beyond their coast they could fish they could mine and dig for oil but only within these zones the waters beyond these zones were deemed heritage of all mankind common property that anyone could use it was all fine until the end of the 20th century but since then each country has been making attempts to change the status quo in 2007 the u.s started mapping to determine the extent of its control in 2013 canada extended its territorial claim up to the north pole and in 2015 russia claimed 1.2 million square kilometers of the arctic sea shelf so each side has staked claim with varying degrees of power the question is who will ultimately win who really owns the arctic under the law of the sea every country owns the arctic equally but it is russia that wields the most control courtesy the united nations convention article 234 of this convention states and i'm quoting in the name of the prevention reduction and control of marine pollution from vessels countries whose coastlines are near arctic shipping routes have the ability to regulate the route's maritime traffic so long as the area remains ice covered for the majority of the year russia interprets this article to justify its control simply because it has the largest coastline in the arctic it stretches a total of 24 000 kilometers that's 53 percent of the arctic ocean's coastline plus russia has the most number of ice breakers it operates a fleet of 40. canada operates more than 21 the united states is just two why do ice breakers matter they give russia an edge the ability to navigate the arctic faster the ability to help ships that get stuck and so by default the ability to dictate terms for decades russia has used these advantages to further its interests especially along the northern sea route one russian law requires all vessels passing through here to be either accompanied or captained by russian sailors moscow also asks passing vessels to pay tolls and provide advanced notices of their journeys and that's not all russia has also militarized the arctic heavily in the last seven years it has expanded its northern fleet reopened all naval bases set up new air force camps increased submarine patrols established a pair of arctic brigades and reorganized its military to create an arctic command alongside this military buildup russia also engages in frequent provocations like sending its bombers to canada's arctic coast letting them stray across finland's borders and sending its officials to norwegian administered arctic territories russia has also robbed in china for help in 2018 china declared itself a near arctic state which makes no sense even china's northernmost part is 900 miles away from the arctic circle but china has declared itself near arctic and russia has backed china's bid this tilts the strategic balance in moscow's favor it establishes a sino-russia alliance in the arctic now what does china bring to the table more muscle more infrastructure more icebreakers china is building a polar silk road in the arctic an offshoot of the belton road initiative the bri it is also carrying out scientific research expeditions today there are chinese researchers in svalbard a territory owned by norway chinese icebreakers are also frequent visitors here they're equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring systems these vessels survey the sea floor for resources the russia-china alliance may be working for now but it may not last forever china is known for harboring big ambitions and russia is known for being protective of its stakes their positions will harden as the ice melts as arctic roots become more accessible and lucrative the cracks will begin to show in more ways than one and that said this polar power play also runs certain risks it will open up the region to human activity this will disturb arctic communities and ecosystems it will cause coastal erosion in arctic nations force arctic countries to move inwards trigger severe environmental degradation and might just release long dormant diseases and i know this may sound like a science fiction plot but it is rooted in reality scientists say mysterious microbes are lying dormant below these ice sheets unknown viruses that have been thriving in extreme conditions no one knows how old they are they could be a century old maybe millennia once the ice thoughts these microbes could be awakened from their slumber the implications of this could be disastrous in 2016 a deadly anthrax outbreak in siberia was linked to the thawing of an infected reindeer it was buried in the permafrost some 70 years back a heat wave melted the surrounding eyes and exposed the corpse to open air the microbes spread infected dozens of people and killed thousands of reindeer my point is quite simple the arctic ice melt will have far reaching consequences it may be good for business and trade but it's not good for the planet [Music]

Channel: WION

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Keywords: arctic, arctic ocean, russia arctic, arctic circle, russia in arctic, russia arctic news, dominance ice arctic cold, russian arctic town, russian arctic military base, russian arctic infrastructure, arctic russian route, russian arctic military exercise, russia military power arctic, arctic gas, russia military power arctic the us, dominance ice tip, heroes of the arctic, dominance ice mlbb, russia's arctic base, dominance ice guide, gravitas plus, palki sharma, wion

Id: tkRwy-q-9dI

Length: 8min 54sec (534 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 02 2022