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Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that U.S. military
capabilities in the Arctic Circle leave his government little choice but
to maintain a strong foothold in the frigid north, where tensions
between the former Cold War adversaries in recent years have heated up
as the polar ice thawed.
During a meeting with students in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin was asked
whether Russia and other countries might loosen their grip on Arctic
territory for military exercises and exploitation of natural resources
in favor of environmental preservation.
The Russian leader replied that the United States hasn't slipped off the
ice shelf and implied that his country's national defense priorities
will continue to outweigh conservation efforts.
"Experts know quite well that it takes U.S. missiles 15 to 16 minutes to
reach Moscow from the Barents Sea," Putin said, according to the
Associated Press.
His comments came on the heels of a recent renewal of U.S. attention to the Arctic.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel laid out the Pentagon's revised Arctic
Strategy at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia last
month.
The U.S. policy blueprint calls for "building trust through transparency
about the intent of our military activities and participation in
bilateral and multilateral exercises and other engagements that
facilitate information-sharing."
But the Russian president's statement suggested suspicion of American
intentions in the region, and possible wariness that the U.S. is not
being as forthcoming as it has pledged to be.
A Hagel aide said that Russia should adopt a cooperative policy.
"The Department of Defense Arctic Strategy recognizes that changes in
the Arctic landscape create an opportunity for nations to work together
through coalitions of common interest," said Pentagon spokesman Carl
Woog. "We will work together with Arctic nations to ensure that the
region remains peaceful and free of conflict."
Over the last several years both nations have increased their respective
military presence in the Arctic, including U.S. naval and Russian air
force operations.
Putin's recent comments indicate uneasiness with U.S. military activity so close to Russian borders.
Putin's mistrust of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines' proximity to
Russian borders is fueling Russia's professed need for a strong military
presence in the Arctic, Hans Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear
Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told ABC
News.
But Kristensen discounted the likelihood that Navy subs operating
outside of the Barents Sea would have any real impact on any
hypothetical use of U.S. nuclear power.
"Such a launch is technically possible but U.S. missile subs are thought
to operate further back in the Atlantic," Kristensen said. "Putin's use
of such a scenario to keep Arctic territories is flawed because they
would not prevent such a launch, which would most likely take place in
international waters."
With many experts saying that global warming is expediting the melting
of the Arctic icecaps, newly created water routes have opened up a
possible treasure trove of commercial wealth to northern nations in the
form of oil, mineral, and natural gases. There has been competition
among countries for Arctic usage rights since the 1950s, but the
accelerated melting of Arctic glaciers in recent years has resulted in
the resurgence of a Cold War-like scramble reminiscent of the United
States-Russia moon landing rivalry.
Both the United States and Russia have insisted that there will be no
direct conflict between the two nations regarding the Arctic region. But
Putin's worst-case missile scenario suggests indirect conflict over
Arctic occupation reminiscent of a bygone competition.
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