The United States is locked in a battle for supremacy with China and Russia that has taken many forms. The constant competition has resulted in the sides looking to gain an advantage in nontraditional battlefields. In space, a previous gentlemen’s agreement on warfare no longer holds sway, while there is a constant fight for one-upmanship in the Arctic and in the race to dominate rare Earth minerals. This Washington Examiner series, The Next Frontier, will investigate this existential struggle. Part 2 looks at the Arctic.
The Russian military is investing heavily in its Arctic region nuclear capabilities — infrastructure it believes is “critical” for sustained national security amid tense coexistence with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization neighbors.
Adm. Aleksander Moiseyev, commander in chief of the Russian Navy, told the audience at Russia’s 14th International Forum in St. Petersburg on Thursday that its nuclear forces will “heighten the sense of responsibility” among “those who seek to escalate tensions in the region.”
“In the Arctic, as well as in the eastern part of our country — Kamchatka, which technically does not fall into the Arctic zone — we have a strategic nuclear forces component,” said Moiseyev. “This is specifically the maritime component, where our strategic submarines are based. Their condition and readiness, I emphasize, are at the highest level. I say this as a professional who has devoted many years of service to these forces.”
THE NORTH POLE COLD WAR: US AND NATO BOLSTERING NATIONAL SECURITY IN ARCTIC REGION
It’s a response to ongoing NATO efforts to isolate Russia in the Arctic — the only country on the eight-nation Arctic Council that is not a member of the U.S.-led alliance.
Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia found itself without many friends on the international stage. The war, which the Kremlin expected to be an easy conquest, has dragged on far longer than it had hoped and deteriorated Russia’s geopolitical positions.
The U.S. released its 2024 Arctic Strategy document in June, emphasizing its commitment to bolstering defenses against the possibility of Russian action in the north. Since then, the U.S. has invested in ice breaker construction in partnership with Canada and Finland. It has also bolstered infrastructure for more rapid deployment of troops to the region.
It’s a development that has spooked an already desperate Russian military, which is now playing catch-up, as noted by the naval commander in chief Thursday.
The annual forum — this year titled “Arctic: Today and the Future” — took place Thursday and Friday. National security experts from across Russia were in attendance.
“Russia’s strategic naval nuclear forces have been completely upgraded. This remains a critical priority for our country,” the naval commander in chief said at the forum. “Nuclear forces have been and will continue to serve as a security guarantee for our nation at the international level.”
Russia has reactivated hundreds of Soviet-era military facilities and naval vessels in the Arctic as part of its heavy investment in the region. The Russian Navy chief said this outdated infrastructure has been “completely modernized.”
The Kremlin has also ensured its navy maintains a strong fleet of ice breaker vessels and nuclear submarines.
“In addition to political and economic measures to deter Russia in the Arctic, unfriendly states are increasing their military presence in the region,” Moiseyev said at the conference Thursday. “After the re-establishment of the second Operational Fleet of the US Navy in May 2018 and the completion of the creation of the Joint Norfolk Command of the United Armed Forces of NATO in 2019, the Arctic became, in fact, an area of operation and a permanent presence of forces.”
He continued, “2024 was no exception. The military potential has increased significantly, primarily due to the increased development of infrastructure and the deployment of troops […] primarily the United States, in the Arctic states.”
Moiseyev was elevated to the position of commander in chief of the Russian Navy in March. He previously served as commander of the Northern Fleet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin tapped Moiseyev to replace Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, then-commander in chief, following a series of unexpected losses against the Ukrainian military in the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea. The Ukrainian Navy is believed to have taken out approximately a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the two years leading up to Yevmenov’s dismissal.
Chinese Communist Party newspapers ran considerable coverage of Moiseyev’s comments about Arctic defense — a development in which they have a vested interest.
The People’s Republic of China, which sits approximately 900 miles away from the Arctic Circle, declared itself a “near-Arctic” state in 2018 — an invented self-designation with no legal standing.
Chinese leaders said international factors such as climate change have forced them to take an active role in the region, but they also have not attempted to hide their plans for economic development.
China is seeking to establish a “Polar Silk Road” through the Arctic as a branch of its wider “Belt and Road Initiative” for international commerce.
Without Arctic infrastructure of its own, China relies on cooperation with its Russian allies for access to the region. The two nations regularly share ports, personnel, and infrastructure.
Iris Ferguson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Arctic and Global Resilience, touched on this growing collaboration in a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies earlier this month.
“[China] is one of the newer entrants on the scene. Over time, the strategic interests that they have in the region are […] giving us pause,” Ferguson said. “How their long-term vision for the region could affect our interests is giving us pause.”
The Arctic currently operates under the control of a closed circle of geographically invested nations. China is aiming to transform the international perception of the Arctic to something similar to Antarctica — a neutral territory open to use by international partners with research interests on the continent.
In particular, the increased military cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic region is raising some alarm among U.S. national security experts.
The U.S. Coast Guard has reported increased instances of the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard deploying joint patrols.
Four such vessels were reported in the Bering Sea in an October report, which “marked the northernmost location where Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been observed by the U.S. Coast Guard.”
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“This kind of increasing levels of military cooperation is new,” Ferguson said. “Certainly, it’s new within and around Alaska.”
“We really just need to be clear-eyed about some of their intentions and how we can be like thinking about their long-term interests and how we can best protect ours,” she added.
