By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday unveiled a new strategy for the Arctic that foresees increasing competition with Russia and China in the strategic region.
"We will exercise U.S. government presence required to protect the American people and defend our sovereign territory," said a fact sheet about the new strategy released by the White House.
Russia has reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military sites in the region, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in August, adding that Russian capabilities there pose a strategic challenge to the 30-nation alliance.
China, which describes itself as a "near-Arctic" state, also has ambitions in the region and has said it intended to build a "Polar Silk Road." China has its eye on mineral resources and new shipping routes as ice caps recede with rising temperatures.
The new U.S. strategy, an update of its 2013 predecessor, says the United States seeks an Arctic region that is "peaceful, stable, prosperous, and cooperative." It addresses climate change with greater urgency and directs new investments in sustainable development to improve livelihoods for Arctic residents, while conserving the environment.
The strategy "also accounts for increasing strategic competition in the Arctic, exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and the People’s Republic of China’s increased efforts to garner influence in the region, and seeks to position the United States to both effectively compete and manage tensions," the White House said.
The White House said the United States "will deter threats to the U.S. homeland and our allies by enhancing the capabilities required to defend our interests in the Arctic, while coordinating shared approaches to security with allies and partners and mitigating risks of unintended escalation." (This story has been corrected to fix garble in first two paragraphs)