The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of December 14, 2020
US Congress Authorizes New Icebreakers and Arctic Security Studies Center
On December 15, High North News reported that the U.S. Congress has authorized, and the U.S. Senate has passed, provisions for the development of three polar security cutters and a new Department of Defense (DoD) Center for Arctic Security Studies, as part of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021. The provision for the security studies center included key elements of a bill introduced to Congress earlier by Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, which were included in the House’s version of the NDAA by Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska). The U.S. DoD is now authorized to establish the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in the next 120 days, and the Coast Guard will receive an additional 11.9 billion dollars in 2021 towards the development of the polar security cutters, in addition to other vessels and infrastructure. (ADN, Dan Sullivan, HNN, HNN)
Take 1: It is a huge, historic step for the U.S. federal government to invest in the development of vital infrastructure and security policy expertise in the Arctic at this scale. The U.S. military in general, and the Coast Guard in particular, has been vocal about the need for action in the Arctic for a long time. Since 2018 multiple major branches of the U.S. military, including the Coast Guard, Navy and the Air Force have published either updated or novel Arctic strategy documents. Congress, on the other hand, has been slow to provide funding for infrastructure or the development of civilian expertise in the region. The inclusion of these provisions in the NDAA addresses long-term requests from the security community and represents an uptick in tangible, substantial investment in Arctic security from the U.S. civilian government. It is important to note that these investments still lag behind those that have been made in Arctic infrastructure and security expertise development by US’ largest competitors on the global stage, Russia and China, but at least these provisions will pave the way for better understanding and operationality by the U.S. in the region moving forward.
Russian Prime Minister Decrees Construction of Arctic Oil Terminal
On December 14, the Independent Barents Observer reported that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on the construction of a shipping terminal, the Sever seaport, on the northern tip of the Taymyr Peninsula. Located 40 kilometers southwest of the town of Dikson, which has a current population of only 500 people, the terminal to come will have the capacity to handle up to 25 million tons of oil annually in service to Vostok Oil, Russia’s largest proposed Arctic project, which is currently under development by Rosneft. Under the decree, an initial contract has been granted to Taymyrneftegaz-Port for the construction of an artificial piece of land upon which the installations will be built. This first step will break the way for mass construction and transport of oil and coal out of the Taymyr, which Russian President Valdimir Putin hopes will drive shipping along the Northern Sea Route to the 80 million tonnes he covets by 2024. (IBO)
Take 2: The sheer scale of Vostok Oil underlines that while many nations are adapting their foreign policy to accommodate the Arctic, or developing their Arctic regions, Russia has placed the Arctic at the center of it’s national development strategy through massive investments in extraction and infrastructure. The scale and power of Russia’s development model for the Arctic is impressive, and will continue to give it considerable presence in the region, and with it, power to set norms and influence the broader development of for example the Northern Sea Route. It’s equally important to note that natural resources development should not be the only way to have a meaningful impact on the broader pattern of development and norms in the region. The work is cut out for nations that are committed to transformations towards a low-carbon society to offer an alternative development pathway or pathways for the Arctic, and to lean into alternative mechanisms for decision-making such as the Arctic Council. Russia is leading the way in Arctic development, but that should not mean that other nations have to follow the example they set to have influence.
Canadian Narwhals are Stressed by Shipping
On December 9, Nunatsiaq News reported on new evidence which suggests that marine traffic is stressing narwhals in Eclipse Sound, near Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Researchers collected blubber from the narwhals during three time periods – from hunts between 2000 and 2006, during which marine traffic in Eclipse Sound was relatively low, from hunts between 2013 and 2019, during peak vessel traffic related to the Mary River Iron Mine, and from an entrapment event in 2015, during which the Narwhals were stuck in a polynya. Data from a new study show that cortisol, a stress hormone, increased by 200% in marine mammals’ blubber after an increase in marine traffic in Eclipse Sound following the opening of the mine, relative to a baseline established. (Nunatsiaq News)
Take 3: This kind of finding is key to environmental protection – although scientists and developers alike often have indications that sound or other disturbance distresses marine mammals and may affect their living patterns, health and wellbeing, the establishment of protections often hangs on quantitative data. This is a particularly common challenge in the context of protection of the marine environment, where species are difficult to observe or track because they spend much, or all of their lives under the water. In this case, the pre-existing practice of hunting and expertise of narwhal hunters allowed for the collection of blubber, and therefore the quantitative comparison of cortisol levels in the narwhal population before and after establishment of the mine. This is a great example of how local knowledge, subsistence and hunting provide vital connecting threads in the scientific process, in the Arctic and elsewhere.
Russia May Deploy Kinzhal Hypersonic Missiles in the Arctic
On December 16, the Independent Barents Observer (IBO) reported that defense ministry representatives told Izvestia, a Russian-language news outlet, that the Russian Northern Fleet has decided to deploy Kinzhal hypersonic missiles (in principle). Kinzhal can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and are ballistic missiles designed to be launched from aircraft. MiG-21 fighter jets are used as carriers of Kinzhal, and according to the IBO, aircraft based on the Russian Arctic Kola Peninsula could be applied. The missiles are believed to have a range of up to 2,000 km, and during tests over the Barents Sea in November 2019 they reportedly reached 10 times the speed of sound. (CSIS, IBO, Izvestia)
Take 4: The potential positioning and testing of such missiles in the Kola Peninsula is yet another reminder of Russia rapidly developing military capabilities in the Arctic. It also has unprecedented defense implications for neighboring Arctic countries – Finland, Sweden and Norway, which depend on the U.S. for missile defense. The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Defense project hypothesizes that Kinzhal are specifically designed to evade U.S. and NATO theater missile defense systems such as the U.S. Army’s THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system, which depends on “interceptors,” or defensive missiles, which target incoming ballistics and cause them to explode in-flight, rather than on impact. The air-launched cruise missiles have been touted by Vladimir Putin since their announcement in his “State of the Nation” address in 2018, and are in line with Russia’s plan to continue modernization of its “nuclear triad” of land, submarine and aircraft – launched missiles. (NTI)
Denmark Apologizes to Greenlanders Removed from their Homes and Families
On December 9, High North News reported that Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, apologized without reservations or qualifications to 22 Inuit Indigenous People who were removed from their homes in Greenland as children in the 1950s to be “re-educated” as “little Danes” in Denmark, and were never returned to their families. The children were meant to return to Greenland to serve as cultural ambassadors, but many never left Denmark and the majority of those who did were placed in an orphanage and never saw their families again. (BBC, HNN)
Take 5: Although this is a domestic resolution, it has international significance. This is not an isolated incident in the sense that Indigenous people of a certain age throughout the Arctic share the experience of forced re-education in anglo-christian schools. The broader pattern of sporadic engagement with Arctic populations, often followed by neglect by centralized governments, is also a legacy that continues to this day. It is a great step for Ms. Frederiksen to apologize, and it is likely that her apology is significant to Arctic Indigenous populations beyond Greenland. However, apology alone is not enough. This apology and story should also spark reflection in Denmark and other Arctic nations about how Indigenous peoples are engaged as equals in Arctic development, geopolitics and science today. These endeavors are often financed by mid-latitude governments and institutions, and don’t always reflect or respect the interests of existing populations, including Indigenous populations. Kim Kielsen, Greenland’s Prime Minister, commended the apology and said that “today we (Greenland and Denmark) are equals, looking back on history together.” All Arctic nations should take this opportunity to consider how to ensure they are looking forward as equals with their Arctic populations, as well.