Navy delivers strategy for Arctic ops as countries compete for oil

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

On Jan. 5 the U.S. Navy rolled out a strategic blueprint for Arctic operations which are expanding due to reduced ice coverage that is making northern sea routes more accessible to resource hungry countries such as China and Russia.

“A Blue Arctic” provides an outline of planned operational changes for the military’s sea services in and around Alaska, including the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps.

The services will operate a full range of missions, adapt to Arctic operations and work with local and Indigenous communities to build regional security, the Navy said.

The Navy highlighted the regional strategy as receding sea ice blamed on climate change makes mineral and biological resources more accessible to nations that can exploit them.

Trade routes are expected to open, allowing access to shipping lanes previously closed by sea ice.

The U.S. and China have invested in expanded icebreaker fleets to support northern operations, while Russia has expended vast amounts of resources to modernize its northern fleet. (While China’s borders are nowhere near the Arctic circle, China obtained a “permanent observer” status at the Arctic Council in May 2013.)

“The coming decades will witness significant changes to the Arctic Region,” the Navy said. “Encompassing about six percent of the global surface, a blue Arctic will have a disproportionate impact on the global economy given its abundance of natural resources and strategic location.”

Those natural resources include oil and gas and minerals.

America’s interests stretch from Maine in the North Atlantic across the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait and Alaska in the North Pacific to the southern tip of the Aleutian Island chain.

Sullivan: Make Alaska home port

“We must remember that the United States is not the only country working to pursue new opportunities in the Arctic - our adversaries are as well,” Young said, noting he was the only House member “from inside the Arctic Circle.”

“I will continue doing all that I can to keep Alaska front and center in America’s Arctic strategy,” Young said.

Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska said in a statement that the Navy recognizes the critical importance his state has in the region.

While acknowledging the need to evolve U.S. forces in the far north, the strategy “lacks some of the urgency needed to drive the development of critical capabilities that are required to effectively compete with our rivals in the Arctic,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan advocates further changes - including making Alaska the home port for one or more Coast Guard icebreakers.

The report delivers an outline for the next two decades and provides strategic guidance on how the Department will apply naval power in the Arctic region. It is no “revolution” however, as explained to Naval News by Timothy Choy, a specialist in Arctic and Maritime Security issues.

A Blue Arctic also challenges the Navy-Marine Corps-Coast Guard team to evolve and expand the range of integrated capabilities to achieve enduring national interests in the region.

The blueprint places focus on the rising maritime activity spurring from Arctic states, including Russia and China, which posture their navies to protect sovereignty and national interests while enabling their ability to project power.

“The time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of our Department, to prepare for an Alaskan Arctic and a Blue Arctic where America’s Navy-Marine Corps team, alongside our allies and partners, will be called to protect our interests and people and ensure this region remains peaceful and prosperous for future generation,” the blueprint said in its forward, which was signed by Kenneth J. Braithwaite II, Secretary of the Navy; Michael M. Gilday, Admiral, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations; and David H. Berger, General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps.

- KAY CASHMAN