The United States reiterated its concern about Russia's "aggressive actions" in the Arctic. A similar position in the lower house of the US Congress was voiced by the chairman of the subcommittee on shipping and maritime security, Lou Correa, as well as his colleague, head of the House’s Internal Security Committee Benny Thompson . With the statements of American officials read RT.
So, during a speech, Correa noted that Russia over the past years has been actively working to increase the number of military facilities in the Arctic, and is intensifying the activities of the Armed Forces in the region.
“I am extremely concerned about the number of aggressive actions undertaken in this region by other countries, primarily Russia and China ... In recent years, Russia has increased the number of military facilities and stepped up the activities of its Armed Forces in the Arctic, making large investments in funds to expand the scale of its naval operations ", - he said.
In addition, the congressman said that the United States "consider it their duty" to protect the economic interests of the country due to increased activity in the region as a whole.
However, according to him, the agency, which is responsible for the implementation of the above tasks, the US Coast Guard, does not have sufficient resources. Correa and Thompson note that the Coast Guard currently has only two polar icebreakers (the Polar Star heavy polar icebreaker, which has expired, and the medium Healy icebreaker), and emphasize that the Department will need six ice class ships to successfully complete missions in the Arctic. .
Thompson, in turn, pointed out that if the United States does not increase investment in strategies, resources and personnel, the Coast Guard is "at risk of further lagging" from competitors in the region.
Recall that earlier the US Congressional Research Service announced the launch of the program for delivering ice class ships to the US Coast Guard (The Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter), the purpose of which is to acquire in the future three heavy polar icebreakers and three middle class icebreakers. It was noted that the total cost of the ships will amount to several billion dollars.
“As part of the ice-class ship supply program, the US Coast Guard plans to purchase three new ships first, namely three heavy polar icebreakers, and then, in a few years, up to three new middle-class icebreakers,” the Congressional Research Service said.
According to the Coast Guard’s estimates, the total cost of buying three ice-class ships will be about $ 1 billion for the first ship, $ 792 million for the second and $ 788 million for the third. Estimated total cost is approximately $ 2.6 billion.
The concern of the United States about the activity of other states in the Arctic is primarily due to the fact that Washington has revised its attitude to the region. Such an opinion in an interview with RT was expressed by Andrei Podoplekin, Deputy Director for International Cooperation of the Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Studies.
- Icebreaker USA Polar Star
- Reuters
- © US Coast Guard
“Their goal is to provide leadership, as they call it, or, quite simply, domination in this region. From this point of view, how they perceive the situation and successes of other countries is very important, ”he said.
At the same time, Podoplekin doubted that in the near future the United States will be able to achieve success in the matter of further development of the Arctic. According to him, the United States is significantly inferior to competitors in the region. This applies, for example, to the level of development of transport technologies, the possibilities of developing natural resources in extreme climatic conditions.
“Russia has a lot to learn here, and in this regard, our country has a huge backlog, which the United States, even with its economic power, is unlikely to be able to make up for the next ten years,” the expert emphasized.
Military component
US Coast Guard Vice Commandant Admiral Charles Ray and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Security in Northern Europe, the Baltic States and the Arctic Michael Murphy also spoke to the House of Representatives subcommittee on shipping and maritime security.
During the meeting, the speakers noted that Russia is building military facilities in the Arctic — air bases, ports — and is deploying new weapons systems in the region.
“At the moment, the Russian government is rebuilding and expanding its military bases, which once ceased to be used. The update will affect airbases, ports, weapons systems deployed in the area of troops, means of the marine alert system and the scope of search and rescue operations, ”Ray said.
The admiral recalled that, according to the 2019 United States Coast Guard Arctic Strategy, Washington “reaffirmed its commitment” to protect the country's national interests in the Arctic. The document, in particular, involves the implementation of three approaches "to achieve long-term success" of the United States in the region.
Michael Murphy, in turn, pointed out that Russia, in addition to strengthening the combat potential in the Arctic, conducted military exercises in the region in October last year - the “largest” since the end of the Cold War - which also became a matter of concern to the American side.
“Russia directed concerted efforts to form a network in the Arctic of air defense systems, coastal missile systems, early warning radars, rescue centers and various sensors. In October 2019, the largest Russian military exercises in the Arctic took place after the end of the Cold War, ”the congressman said.
In this regard, Murphy noted the need to counter the growing influence of Moscow in the region. Thus, the diplomat said that Washington should reconsider its policy, taking into account new realities, including the resumption of competition between major powers in the Arctic.
As explained by a doctor of military sciences, retired 1st-rank captain Konstantin Sivkov, Russia does not so much create as recreate those objects that were in the Arctic during the USSR: airspace surveillance systems, systems of bases and naval base bases, merchant shipping. In an interview with RT, the expert added that the United States, accusing the Russian Federation of “militarizing” the Arctic, also does not miss the opportunity to conduct active military activities in the region and express “extreme dissatisfaction” with the fact that Russia is regaining its presence there.
“They deployed missile defense systems in Alaska; secondly, a purely military station HAARP is located in Alaska ... Thirdly, there are several F-15 fighter aviation bases (in the interests of air defense of this region again), plus the United States of America has deployed a grouping in this region the ground forces, which controls Alaska mainly, ”Sivkov said.
Moreover, in recent years, the Russian Federation has noted an increase in the activity of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Arctic. This was previously stated by the commander of the Northern Fleet, Alexander Moiseev. According to him, the region continued to increase the intensity and scale of operational and combat training activities of the NATO Armed Forces, "the total number of which increased by 17%, intelligence activity increased by 15%."
In October 2018, NATO countries conducted the largest exercises in the Arctic in several years. In the Trident Juncture maneuvers in Norway, about 50 thousand troops from 31 countries participated. As part of the events, 250 aircraft, 65 ships and 10 thousand armored vehicles were involved.
In turn, a military expert, reserve colonel Mikhail Khodarenok, in a conversation with RT, stressed that Moscow’s restoration of its positions in the Arctic is carried out solely to protect Russian sovereignty over this region.
“Russia is regaining its presence in this region, and the United States is naturally worried that Russia will unilaterally lay claim to the Northern Sea Route,” the expert said.
- Norwegian soldier during a military exercise, March 2013
- Gettyimages.ru
- © Robert Nickelsberg
Zone of Peace and Cooperation
The unfriendly rhetoric of the United States against the Russian Federation regarding activities in the Arctic region is reflected not only in the statements of American officials, but also in program documents. Thus, the US Coast Guard's Arctic Strategy, adopted earlier, states that Moscow and Beijing threaten Washington’s interests in the region.
“Due to the fact that Russia and China around the world constantly question the international order based on rules, there are fears that they will likewise hinder the maintenance of peaceful stability in the Arctic,” the text says.
Speaking about the peculiarities of Russian politics in the Arctic, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that Moscow considers it a priority to protect its national interests in the region due to the fact that it has become an object of territorial, resource and military-strategic interests for a number of states. To ensure effective work in the Arctic region, the Russian Federation is working on the development of military infrastructure, including.
As Andrei Podoplekin specified, it is natural for Russia to want to ensure the security of its northern borders. According to the expert, the population of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation exceeds 2 million people - this is more than half of the total population of the world Arctic. Moreover, the Arctic coast is the largest coastal zone of the Russian Federation, which has large reserves of oil and gas resources and valuable fish species of the cold seas.
“The forces and equipment deployed by the Russian Federation in the Arctic obviously have no offensive character ... Another thing is how the United States interprets these our actions. The abilities of our country can be perceived as a threat, but Russia - and this is clearly proclaimed - is striving for the development of the Arctic as a zone of peace and cooperation, this is clearly indicated in the Development Strategy of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, in all our declarations and statements made within the framework of the Arctic Council ” - explained Podoplekin in a conversation with RT.