It’s already brought a farming boom to Greenland and, as Scott Borgerson writes in
Foreign Affairs, it will very likely bring some good to the
Arctic.
Yes, the Arctic icecap is melting; it’s half the size of fifty years ago. But if the melting continues we will see the opening of the Northwest Passage that was a footnote in the history books I read as a child. And, it’s been estimated that the Arctic coastline and sea has twice the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Plus it will give access to immense freshwater reserves.
The new sea lanes should prompt investment in shipping companies or those that outfit ships as the distance between Rotterdam and Yokohama will shrink from 11,200 nautical miles to 6,500 and the Northwest Passage will result in ships going from Seattle to Rotterdam to travel 2,000 fewer nautical miles. Both these trips now involve going through the Suez or Panama Canal, which do not provide free passage. The new lanes should cut the costs of trips 20% - 40% as well as cut the transport time significantly.
But, as is true with many of the issues confronting this country, we’re doing very little about addressing this issue, while other countries – Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark – are taking steps to get a legal stake in the area. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a help in staking out territories but our Senate has yet to approve it although it has been urged to do so by a variety of people – Navy, Coast Guard, environmental groups, private companies. Why the Navy is pursuing this is a bit of a question as, despite our navy being as large as that of the next seventeen navies combined, we have a total of one icebreaker, which is still needed in the Arctic. Russia has eighteen and China, which has no connection with either pole, has an icebreaker.
The last time we issued an executive statement on the Arctic was in 1994, when it was still a land of hard ice. Now, we’re looking at a place with a lot of potential for good and evil for both our economy and our security and very few of our leaders are even talking about the issues. Yet, we have to act, we have to negotiate with other claimants, and, together, we have to develop a set of rules that all will follow for the good of the world.
2 comments:
The US government has been slow to revisit its Arctic Policy (and it is doing so now with little apparent public consultation). But as you say, it is doing the right thing in pushing the Senate for Advice and Consent to join the Law of the Sea Convention. It is that Convention, along with the International Maritime Organization, the 1995 Agreement on High Seas and Straddling Stocks and other oceans agreements that constitute the law of the Arctic beyond national jurisdiction. We will need to take advantage of that body of law to address a host of navigation, living resource, mineral development and environmental protection issues in the Arctic so we had better join the Convention soon.
"...we have to act....with other claimants.....to develop a set of rules that all will follow for the good of the world."
I don't know what you're smoking these days, but can you let me have some?
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