WSJ: Russia Targets Another Tidbit In The Arctic

For now, Trump's focus is on Greenland.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants control of Greenland to prevent Russia and China from taking it over. However, there is another NATO island in the Arctic where Russia and China have a real presence and are deepening cooperation.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the island in question is the Svalbard archipelago, which is part of Norway. Under a 1920 treaty, many countries, including Russia, China and the United States, are allowed access here, provided all parties refrain from using it for military purposes.

"Places once peripheral to world politics, especially the Arctic, have become the new hot spots. And few places in the Arctic are more desirable than Svalbard, located on the shortest flight path of Russian missiles aimed at the United States and boasting natural resources that Norway has jealously guarded for decades," the WSJ writes.

The U.S. and Norway say a Chinese science center on Svalbard is a hub for military research. Svalbard's only university last year banned Chinese students from entering after Norwegian domestic intelligence characterized them as a security threat.

Norwegian officials also point to numerous recent threatening statements from Moscow. For example, the Russian Foreign Ministry has questioned Oslo's sovereignty over Spitsbergen, which makes up almost a fifth of Norwegian territory, and Russian MPs have suggested reaching an agreement with the US president over the division of Arctic territories.

"We desperately need Spitsbergen. Huge bases will be established there, capable of influencing the entire Arctic," retired Russian general Andrey Gurulev said last January. He said Russia should take control and strengthen its military presence in the region, including a growing fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers.

In response, Norway has increased its control over Spitsbergen. Maritime patrols by frigates have been increased, rules for foreigners have been tightened, and discussions are underway to begin exploration of the surrounding seabed, which contains deposits of valuable rare earth elements sought after by modern industry.

The archipelago's weakness

"Svalbard's remoteness makes it vulnerable," said Hedvig Moe, formerly deputy director of Norwegian domestic intelligence.

In January, a ship carrying food to Svalbard was forced to stop en route due to technical problems, leaving the islands without food supplies for days. Submarine cables that provide internet connectivity are vulnerable to sabotage.

"Obviously, Svalbard is the second or third falling domino knuckle if we end up in a real conflict between NATO and Russia," said Andreas Esthagen, an Arctic expert at the independent Fridtjof Nansen Institute. "I still don't think that's the most likely scenario, but it's much more likely now than it was a few months ago because of the United States undermining both NATO and territorial sovereignty."

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