By Marcelo Zero*
On October 13 this year, a very revealing event took place regarding the current geopolitical conflicts between China and the United States.
The Chinese cargo ship Istanbul Bridge docked at the British port of Felix Stowe.
So far, not much. The UK is China’s third largest export market. Chinese ships constantly dock at British ports.
But in this case it was different. The Istanbul Bridge was the first large Chinese cargo ship to travel directly to Europe via the Arctic Ocean.
The trip only lasted 20 days. Typically, it takes twice as long, on traditional routes through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope.
Beijing celebrated. He hailed the trip as a “geostrategic breakthrough and a contribution to the stability of the global supply chain.”
The one who didn’t like it was Trump.
Trump knows that Arctic routes, increasingly unhindered by global warming, will be vital to the logistics of supply chains in the Northern Hemisphere.
His decision to send a “special envoy” to Greenland with the mission of integrating this territory into the United States, even if it shocked the world and provoked an outraged reaction from NATO member Denmark, must be taken seriously.
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There is a lot at stake.
In fact, as I already explained in a previous article (“The Arctic Dispute”), the Arctic Ocean communicates, via much shorter and increasingly free sea routes, with Europe, Asia and North America.
In addition to the historic Northwest Passage, there is also the “Northern Sea Route” and the “Transcolarian Sea Route”, which could be completely ice-free in summer by 2035. The map below is very informative.
Red: Northwest Passage; Turquoise: Northern Sea Route; Green: Transpolar Sea Route; Purple: Arctic Bridge Road
It is for this reason that the United States, whose Alaska borders the Arctic Ocean, is very determined to dominate the region and contain the claims of Russia and Canada to these sensitive territories.
Mastery of these routes could offer a significant comparative logistical advantage. Furthermore, for China, the use of Arctic routes would allow it to “circumvent” a possible blockade of the Strait of Malacca. Trump views this with apprehension.
Greenland, we note, lies right in the center of these routes.
It is worth adding that, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), there are at least 90 billion barrels of oil and 1.67 trillion cubic feet of natural gas north of the Arctic Circle. Overall, it is estimated that around 10% of the world’s oil resources are found in the Arctic.
The dominant share of hydrocarbons at sea As USGS studies show, the Arctic lies precisely within the current exclusive economic zones contested by the United States, Russia and Canada. There are also significant mineral reserves of rare earths and other essential minerals in Greenland, which are becoming increasingly accessible with increasing meltwater.
Recently (October 2022), the United States released the “National Strategy for the Arctic Region” as well as a report on the impact of climate change on American military bases.
The United States also opened a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, appointed an ambassador-at-large for the Arctic region to the State Department and an assistant secretary of defense for the Arctic.
According to the aforementioned strategy, the war in Ukraine and rising geopolitical tensions have made cooperation with Russia in the Arctic virtually “impossible.”
Still according to this Strategy, “To protect our interests, as attention, investments, and activities increase in the Arctic over the coming decades, the United States will enhance and exercise military and civilian capabilities in the Arctic as necessary to deter threats and anticipate, prevent, and respond to threats.“.
Furthermore, the text of the Strategy provides for the deepening of “cooperation with Arctic allies and partners in support of these objectives“.
Thus, the United States intended, in this strategy, to build a grand alliance in the Arctic, aimed at containing Russia and China.
This latter objective, however, seems to have been abandoned by Trump, who is clearly threatening to break with Denmark (NATO ally) and seize Greenland.
The interest in making Canada the 51st state of the United States is also linked to this conflict over trade routes and strategic resources, already from a nationalist and frankly imperialist perspective.
In reality, Trump wants to make the Arctic Sea an essentially American sea, controlling the opening of new routes for global logistics and the immense natural resources that are increasingly accessible. This dominance would actually go a long way toward containing the interests of Russia and China internationally.
This explains Trump’s obsession with Greenland.
Trump is brutal. He threw the entire “rules-based” world order, multilateralism and old alliances into the trash.
Its clear objective is to build a new Hobbesian world order, based exclusively on unilateralism and force.
In this context, the sovereignties of other countries, even former allies, are only annoying obstacles that can be swept away.
This applies to Denmark and Venezuela. The problem is not ideological; It’s geopolitics.
Its recent decision to build a new class of super battleships reveals its desire to extend, by force, the projection of American interests across all seas.
From the tropical Caribbean to the frozen Arctic.
*Marcelo Zero He is a sociologist and specialist in international relations.
This article does not necessarily represent the views of the Viomundo.
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