By now most people have heard of
Russia’s planting of its flag beneath the North Pole, in an effort to gain control of the vast amounts of minerals, oil, and natural gas located there. This latest Russian “research expedition” was merely a stunt to bolster the Russians claims to the territory. It was only Russia’s most recent visit to the Pole,
another research mission just 2 months ago actually picked up all the geological samples Russia required to confirm the treasure trove of natural resources there.
“The Russian scientific establishment confirm that Russia already has picked the geological samples it needs from the North Pole sea bed. As a matter of fact, another research expedition, also named “Arctica-2007“ were picking geological samples in the area only two months prior to Mr. Chilingarov’s mission.
Furthermore, Novaya Gazeta writes, the North Pole point is located outside the socalled Lomonosov structure, the sub-sea geological area which Russia claims to be part of the Siberian shelf.”
According to this report this is all part of political maneuvering that began decades ago during the reign of the Soviet Union.
“Russia has been quietly preparing for the opening of the northeastern strait for decades, investing in ice-resistant oil tankers, drawing up plans for ports, and even deploying a massive floating dry dock.”
The benefit of claiming the North Pole is twofold, 1) It allows control of the natural resources, 2) It allows control of shipping, and therefore commerce through the thawing Northeast and Northwest Passages. Ships using the newly opened waterways would cut 4359 mi. off the Panama canal route, and 10,563 mi. off the Cape Horn route. The potential savings for cargo shipping would be enormous.
“Based on a charter cost of $30,000 a day, traveling speed of 22 knots and fuel costs of $170 per tonne, the route from Rotterdam to Shanghai via the Northwest Passage would be $590,000 cheaper than through the Suez Canal if the Canadian passageway were free.”
Additionally the nation that controls access to the passageways would be able to levy usage fees, and taxes on all ships passing through.
This is a dangerous game of brinksmanship that Russia is playing, and the outcome has the very real possibility of ending in military conflict.
Already there are reports that Canada is opening a new deep water military port in its most northern reaches to protect its sovereignty in the area, as well as beefing up its navy with 8 new Ice Breakers capable of operation there.
The United States for its part launched an arctic mission on Aug. 6th, to study the North Pole, and plans are in the pipeline for the US to build two additional Ice Breakers to beef up its current fleet of four aging vessels. There was also news a few months ago that
the US is preparing for a polar conflict.
“Desert warfare may be today’s concern, but the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is already looking to an entirely new area of military conflict: polar warfare. That’s correct, DARPA wants technologies that could be used to ensure U.S. dominance in the polar regions.
Wired news reports that DARPA has started a new project named “POLAR” (Technologies for Persistent Operations in High LAtitude Regions) To ensure that the equipment necessary for US operational dominance in extreme arctic temperatures will work correctly. They site a report “
Naval Operations in an Ice Free Arctic” as expounding on the thinking of the US military on the subject.
The Russian Bear, and the American Eagle may again be locked in a titanic struggle for political dominance, only this time it is not Europe that is the prize, but rather the Great White North.
UPDATE: Now comes news that
Russia will be engaging in military exercises over the territory it claims is part of the Lomonosov ridge, near the North Pole.
“Russia is holding extensive war games in the Arctic this week, including cruise missile tests and a flight over the North Pole by strategic bombers.”
“The RIA-Novosti agency quoted airforce sources as saying that four supersonic Tu-160 strategic bombers and 14 medium-range Tu-22M bombers are involved in the exercises, which will include a flyover of the 1.2-million square kilometre Arctic territories claimed by Russia.”
The Russians also interrupted US military exercises on the US island of Guam with a 3200 mi long flight there by two bombers, forcing the US to scramble fighters.
“Russia has opened another front in its international show of muscle by dispatching strategic bombers to the heart of American military power in the Pacific for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Two Russian Tu-95 bombers made the 3,200-mile flight to Guam, where more than 22,000 American troops are involved in exercises, a senior air force general said yesterday.
Major-General Pavel Androsov said that when US jets were scrambled, the Russian and American pilots “exchanged smiles”. He added: “Whenever we saw US planes during our flights over the ocean, we greeted them. On Wednesday, we renewed the tradition when our young pilots flew by Guam in two planes. We exchanged smiles with our counterparts, who flew up from a US carrier and returned home”.”
The provocations by the Russians are getting much more serious. This is not the first time they have done as much either, as recently as September 2006 the Russians flew bombers near Alaskan airspace forcing the US and Canada to scramble fighter jets. This old Russian General is having a laugh about these serious issues, and talks of reviving “old traditions”, someone needs to tell them to “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”. The United States and the West are not the enemy any longer, we have a common enemy in Islamofacism. If the Russians continue this nonsense, and distract the world from the larger picture, it will leave us mutually vulnerable to the threat of terrorism.