China has emerged from being a peripheral partner to an active member in the Arctic Council in the span of a decade. With China emerging as one of the prominent players in the Arctic region, discussions and deliberations related to China’s plans and policies have taken center stage. As far as strategic considerations, economic progress, geopolitical stakes, and sociocultural collaboration across borders have become important parameters. In the emerging geopolitical scenario, with the aim of acquiring great-power status and gaining geostrategic prominence, it has become crucial for nations to contemplate national strategies along with military capability in the Arctic. Furthermore, the discovery and utilization of untapped resources in this region have made it attractive to these nations and even vital for economic and geopolitical reasons. All these factors have made the Arctic Five nations (Norway, Russia, Canada, Denmark, and the United States) as well as the three nations proximate to the Arctic Circle (Iceland, Finland, and Sweden) contemplate the probable scenarios related to the initiation of new navigational routes there. Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is not a global common, with no overreaching treaty governing this region. The increasing temperatures in the Arctic region have been drawing global attention for economic, geopolitical, and environmental reasons-among others. These are all due to increasing global temperatures and the extensive shifting of the Arctic’s polar ice cap, eventually resulting in the thawing of sea ice. However, the Arctic has also been in the news due to loss of ice, warming waters, increased sea levels, and the thawing of its permafrost. Its phenomenally rich biodiversity is responsible for the increased interest in this region by major powers such as the United States, Russia, and China, apart from the Arctic nations. The Arctic region has gained immense strategic, geopolitical, and economic importance in the twenty-first century.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |