(dramatic music)
- [Instructor] This map shows the amount of ice
around the North pole decreasing rapidly over the years.
And as the sea ice steadily melts in the Arctic,
the U.S., China, and Russia are stepping up their game
in the remote and inhospitable region
that's rich in resources
and growing in strategic importance.
(speaking in foreign language)
- There are other people coming into the Arctic
and we don't like it.
(speaking in foreign language)
- It's an untapped area of mineral resources
that China would like to explore one day.
- Russia has moved quite quickly in the last two years
to really boost its military presence in the Arctic.
- Greenland allows for trans navigation
from Europe to the United States.
It provides a place where you can refuel ships,
refuel planes, have storage spaces.
- [Instructor] An estimated trillion dollars
worth of rare earth metals could be lying
under all that ice,
as well as about 30% of the world's undiscovered gas
and 13% of the world's undiscovered oil.
The warmer Arctic is also extending the season
when ships can navigate in these usually ice covered waters,
potentially reducing navigation time
between Shanghai and New York,
by as much as seven days
and making tourism and cargo shipment more attractive.
(mortar firing)
All this is setting the stage for potential clashes.
Almost 10% of Russia's GDP and 20% of its exports
come from north of the Arctic circle.
And Moscow says it's ready to defend its territory.
- The military infrastructure has really been successfully
increased in the last several years.
(airplane engine jets roaring)
One of Russia's most northern base
can now handle jet fighters.
And that's a huge jump from where it was a couple years ago.
- [Instructor] And this activity
hasn't gone unnoticed in Washington.
- Russia's unique, it actually deserves special attention.
- Any signs that Russia is trying to reclaim its status
as a great power on the global stage.
And especially in a place like the Arctic,
which has disputes, is a cause for worry of Washington.
I think largely because of that lack of trust.
- [Instructor] Russia is also investing
to renovate old Soviet ports
along its Northern sea route.
Cargo shipments, mainly of energy resources
are steadily growing,
but with little infrastructure
and given the still limited period of time
between July and November
that the route in the Arctic is open,
there's still a long way before
it becomes a real rival to traditional shipping routes
like via the Suez canal.
- Right now there's a relatively large gap
between what Russia wants to accomplish in the Arctic
but it is actually doing.
One of the biggest problems right now is infrastructure.
So it wants to attract it's international investors.
That includes China.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Instructor] In 2018, China declared itself
a near Arctic state,
even though the northern most part of China
is more than 900 miles away from the Arctic circle.
Basically China plans to carve out shipping routes
and tap natural resources.
- When China announced a similar strategy,
Russia at least verbally welcomed it,
but there are still a lot of reservation.
(shouting in foreign language)
- [Instructor] Western capital and technology
in the country dried up
following versus annexation of Crimea in 2014.
So Moscow has accepted billions of dollars from Beijing
in loans and investments,
including for the landmark gas project
on the Yamal Peninsula.
But China's investments are mostly limited to projects
that can help it exploit resources.
- China doesn't want to just invest
for the sake of investing
'cause it wants to actually see a profit come from that.
- [Instructor] There's another sticking point
between Russia and China and the Arctic.
- Russia would want its own icebreakers to accompany
most of the vessels.
China on the other hand would like fewer navigation
where China would need to rely on Russian escorts.
And so that's the fundamental, is agreements.
- Essentially it's large real estate deal.
Lot of things could be done.
- [Instructor] Most of the world woke up
to the U.S. interest in the Arctic
when president Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland,
the biggest Island in the region,
and which is the site
of America's northernmost military base.
Denmark, which exercises control over Greenland
turned down the idea.
So after a decades long hiatus,
the U.S. reopened its consulate
in Greenland's capital in June.
During an interview
with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
admitted that the U.S. is playing catch up.
- Secretary, are you a bit late to the party
in the Arctic. - Yep we're a little late.
- Yeah-- - But that's all right
I've been late to parties before and had a great time.
We'll succeed.
- The United States, for instance,
has a presence in the Arctic with newly launched Navy fleet
that's just a continuation of making sure that
that other great powers know that the U.S.
isn't losing a step
and is able to fight in extreme cold weather battlefields.
- We've all been a little bit naive
to watch, not only the Russians
but the Chinese interest there
continue to become more and more aggressive.
(audience applauds)
- [Instructor] China and Russia insist
that they support peaceful economic
and scientific cooperation in the region.
Meanwhile, Washington is trying to
build up its fleet of icebreakers.
- We have under construction right now,
the largest icebreaker in the world,
and we're going to be trying to get, if we can,
an extra 10 ice icebreakers.
- [Instructor] At the moment,
the U.S. has only one old heavy icebreaker in operation
compared with Russia, some 40 vessels,
including nuclear ones that can smash through ice
nine feet thick.
China has two icebreakers as well,
and it's building a nuclear one.
- Ice breakers do a number of things
for a country that has that has them.
One it keeps open commercial ice channels
and allows for the rescue of vessels.
If the U.S. is unable to send up a rescue team,
other great powers like Russia,
and even China can go up there, save people
and they'll have a better claim
to be able to stay in the Arctic.
- [Instructor] For the U.S., China, and Russia,
it's a pivotal moment in the Arctic.
The moves they make today are likely to define the region
for years to come and potentially help reshape
global supply chains and energy markets.