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Daniel Kochis wrote a commentary piece for the Heritage Foundation on China's recent attempts to move into the Arctic, calling for Congress to hold a public hearing on the matter. Kochis is a research fellow for European affairs in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
"The U.S. is an Arctic nation as much as it is an Atlantic or Pacific one," Kochis said in the commentary piece. "To defend American sovereignty in the high north, policymakers must not only do more to raise public awareness of security threats but also work to ensure that the U.S. is properly resourced to defend its national sovereignty. One immediate step that would help on both counts is for the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party to hold a public hearing on the threat from China in the region. China is feeling bullish about its ability to push its way into the Arctic."
According to Kochis, earlier this month, 11 Chinese and Russian naval ships were spotted near the Aleutian Islands by Alaska which promoted the U.S. Navy to dispatch destroyers in the region to explore. Kochis mentioned U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said this move was "unprecedented" noting how China and Russia are "increasingly working together."
Kochis said the U.S. government should place more value on the Arctic as a valuable region for national security as threats for China are becoming more common, according to the Heritage Foundation. He explained some recent examples where China has began suspicious activities in the area.
Kochis said, in July, the China's Polar Research Institute made plans to utilize listening devices in the Arctic Ocean. Kochis said this announcement was alarming given China's previous attempts to insert technology in certain areas under the guise of scientific research or exploration.
In 2018, China tried to purchase an airport in Kemijärvi, Lapland, Finland. China intended to extend the runway for research flights to the North Pole, allowing observations over the Arctic Ocean and the Northeast Passage, Kochis reported. Additionally, the flight path would strategically pass over Rovajärvi firing range, Europe's largest artillery range located west of Kemijärvi.
The plan was eventually stopped by local authorities. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense warned “civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean,” even including "deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks.” Further investigation found Chinese journals supported this idea of submarine operations in the Arctic, Kochis noted.
Kochis said any listening devices used by the Chinese for scientific reasons will "certainly be used to track American and allied submarines." Kochis added China has been intensifying its efforts to establish a foothold in the Arctic, giving the example when Canada found Chinese spy buoys near Alaska around the same time spy balloons were spotted in the U.S.
Kochis argued China's incremental expansion in the Arctic, coupled with the growing relationship between China and Russia, has emboldened President Xi Jinping to pursue a more substantial presence in the region.
According to Kochis, as the conflict in Ukraine persists, Moscow's position is steadily deteriorating. Due to being restricted from collaborating with Western companies, Russia now depends on China to offer both technology and funding for the advancement of energy and ventures into the Arctic region. China also gains political influence in Russia and profitable construction agreements for Chinese enterprises.
