US tactics to deny China a role in the Arctic are welcomed by no one but itself

Washington’s mischaracterisation of Beijing’s intentions is the basis for moves to increase US’ presence in Arctic and lean on allies to undermine China’s
However, public opinion in the region largely welcomes Chinese participation in scientific endeavours and infrastructure development

Donald Gasper

Published: 3:00am, 13 May 2020

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Last month, when one might have thought there were more urgent matters to attend to back home, the Trump administration announced with great fanfare a series of steps to increase its presence in Greenland.

The Americans are reopening a consulate in the capital, Nuuk, and offering US$12 million in aid. These steps, widely criticised by the public in Greenland, come just eight months after the US president cancelled a visit to Copenhagen in a huff when his offer to buy the vast island territory from Denmark was snubbed.

At a briefing on April 23, a senior State Department official presented the US move as aimed at countering what he described as Russia’s “military build-up in the Arctic” and Chinese efforts to “wiggle their way” into Greenland. He said China, by offering support for expanding Greenland’s tourism industry, was seeking control over its strategic assets.

That would be “problematic for the United States and our Nato allies”, the official warned. “It would not be in our interest for China to secure control of critical infrastructure in Greenland, any more than it’s in our interest … to see China secure control of critical ports in Europe or 5G communication networks.”

Just three days earlier, on April 20, Carla Sands, the US ambassador to Denmark, had issued a statement which attacked the Arctic presence of the Russian Federation, a member of the Arctic Council.

The statement also warned against China’s proposal for a “Polar Silk Road” focused on new Arctic shipping routes and access to natural resources. China is building icebreakers, deploying unmanned ice stations and engaging in “large and sophisticated data collection efforts” to “advance its predatory economic interests and project its authoritarian values”, it says.

“The People’s Republic of China calls itself a ‘near Arctic state’ even though nearly 1,500 kilometres [930 miles] separate the Arctic and China,” the statement says, implying that China has no business to be in the region at all.

By the same yardstick, one could ask what business the US has in Asia, the Middle East and other regions throughout the globe, thousands of kilometres from its shores.

Sands was repeating the line taken by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on May 6 last year, when he chided China for its participation in Arctic affairs.

Fishermen clean seaweed off their nets in the port of Nuuk, Greenland, in June 2016. Photo: Reuters

So, is China entitled to take part in the peaceful development of the region? Well, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Svalbard Treaty of 1920, which apart from awarding Norway sovereignty over Svalbard (formerly known as Spitzbergen) also allowed its signatories to have access to the island’s fishing, hunting and natural resources.

Many of the signatories, for example Saudi Arabia, which signed up in 1925, are far from the region. The former Republic of China also acceded to the treaty that year as one of the earliest contracting parties.

Subsequently, the People’s Republic was acknowledged by the international community as having inherited the treaty rights of its predecessor.

China-US struggle for global control is coming to the Arctic

In 1996, China became a member of the International Arctic Science Committee, and since 1999, it has successfully conducted several scientific expeditions in the region. In 2003, it set up an Arctic research base at the Yellow River Station and in 2005 hosted the Arctic Science Summit Week.

In 2013, it was admitted as an official observer to the newly established Arctic Council, so there can be no doubt that the world acknowledges its legitimate role in the region.

Far from “wiggling” its way into the Arctic, China’s proposed participation in various projects was greeted with enthusiasm by the seven Arctic countries, especially after the financial collapse in many Western states in 2008. But, under US pressure, Denmark in 2017 turned down an offer from General Nice Group, a Hong Kong-based firm, to buy an abandoned naval base in Greenland.

Greenland’s Premier Kim Kielsen visited Beijing late in 2017 and his delegation met representatives of engineering and construction company China Communications Construction and Beijing Construction Engineering Group to discuss a plan to expand three airports to facilitate tourism. It fell through due to Washington’s bullying of its Nato ally, Denmark.

Such heavy-handed US tactics risk further alienating public opinion in the Arctic countries. Moreover, by attempting to demonise and thwart China, Washington is unnecessarily stoking tensions at a time when Beijing’s cooperation is essential in tackling global challenges like global climate change and the novel coronavirus crisis.

Donald Gasper is a Hong Kong-based analyst and commentator

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