"They can hide the necessary ice strengthening that is required for their submarines to enter ice conditions and so we would not be seeing them doing the necessary work for the emplacement of the upward-looking sonar, the hardening of their sail, the retractable fins: All of this can just simply be hidden from sight as they're doing it," Huebert said. However, given the closed and secretive nature of the Chinese political system and its military, it would be very easy for them to hide preparations for deploying submarines to the Arctic, Huebert said. must do more to check Russia's military moves in the Arctic, says NORAD chief "Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks," the report said. The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China's interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station and a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing's long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments. The strategy identifies China's interests as access to natural resources, securing Arctic sea lines of communications (SLOCs), and promoting an image of a "responsible major country" in Arctic affairs, the Pentagon assessment says. In January 2018, Beijing published a white paper on the Arctic, which describes China as a "near-Arctic" state and "an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs." 'A near-Arctic state'Ĭhina is also building a new icebreaker capable of operating in the Arctic, which is expected to enter service in 2019. Beijing created a polar research institute in 2009 and has organized several scientific expeditions in the Arctic.Ĭhina maintains research stations in Iceland and Norway and operates one Ukrainian-built icebreaking research vessel, the Xuelong (Snow Dragon), which in 2017 completed its eighth Arctic expedition and became the first Chinese official vessel to traverse Canada's Northwest Passage, the report notes. Canada's window to defend the Arctic is closing, MP warnsĬhina has shown a keen economic and scientific interest in the region.
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