1. Arctic Imperatives: Reinforcing U.S. Strategy on America’s Fourth Coast
- Author:
- Thad W. Allen, Christine Todd Whitman, and Esther Brimmer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- "The United States, through Alaska, is a significant Arctic nation with strategic, economic, and scientific interests," asserts a new Council on Foreign Relations-sponsored (CFR) Independent Task Force report, Arctic Imperatives: Reinforcing U.S. Strategy on America's Fourth Coast. With the Arctic "warming at twice the rate as the rest of the planet" and melting sea ice opening up this resource-rich region to new trade routes and commercial activities, the report stresses that "the United States needs to increase its strategic commitment to the region or risk leaving its interests unprotected." The report notes that while Russia has numerous ice-breaking vessels and China is building a third icebreaker, the United States owns only two operational icebreaking ships—one heavy icebreaker and one medium-weight icebreaker—to serve both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Asserting that "icebreakers are a national capacity" required for a range of maritime missions to support U.S. security, economic, and commercial needs, the Task Force recommends that the United States fund and build additional icebreakers. The report also finds that the United States needs greater investment in Alaskan infrastructure, including deepwater ports, roads, and reliable telecommunications, to support economic development and a sustained security presence in the region. Currently, "almost no marine infrastructure is in place within the U.S. maritime Arctic."
- Topic:
- Climate Change, International Trade and Finance, Infrastructure, Hegemony, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, Asia, North America, Arctic, and United States of America