The Arctic Council, a once-obscure regional forum that had
little to show for itself, has nations queuing to participate at a
meeting this week in Sweden, as melting ice makes shipping, tourism
and resource extraction a reality in the nebulously delineated
region.
Among the 14 countries and organizations seeking so-called
observer status at the meeting in Kiruna, northern Sweden, will be
China, whose increased interest in the Arctic underscores the
region's re-emergence as an area of potential geopolitical
intrigue.
The council's eight permanent members--the U.S., Canada, Russia
and five Nordic nations--must agree to admit the new members. The
Nordic nations, which have been courted aggressively by China, say
they will. Canada has expressed reservations. It is unclear whether
the U.S., which is sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the
meeting, and Russia will agree, as they wake up to the increased
economic, and perhaps military, potential of the vast stretches of
Arctic territory within and north of their borders.
"Joining the council is more a political statement from
countries like China," said Malte Humpert, an executive director at
the Arctic Institute, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank,
"the idea of having a seat at the table in a region that is likely
to become another realm of geopolitics."
Begun in 1996 as a body to coordinate Arctic policy, the council
was for many years seen as a platform for scientists to swap
research on environmental issues. More recently, it has gained
prominence amid expectations that melting ice will clear the way
for more resource development and free up trade routes.
In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated some 22% of the
world's undiscovered oil and natural-gas deposits are located above
the Arctic Circle.
On Wednesday, Canada will take over the council chairmanship in
a meeting that will include signing a treaty on oil-spill
preparedness and response as well as the decision on whether to
increase the roster of permanent observers, with India, Japan,
Italy and the European Union joining China and others on the
list.
Observer status, currently held by six countries, grants holders
little more than the ability to attend meetings and propose
projects, which then need to be approved by the permanent
members.
But Beijing and Chinese businesses have been aggressively
courting the council's Nordic members in a bid, analysts say, to
get a toehold in the Arctic. In April, China signed a free-trade
deal with Iceland, its first with a European nation. In June 2012,
then-Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Denmark, when Chinese
companies signed a number of commercial deals. Chinese companies
have also invested in Greenland, a self-governing part of
Denmark.
That appears to be paying off.
"Our opinion is that the countries which have a legitimate
interest in discussing Arctic issues must be accepted as observers
in the Arctic Council," Danish minister of foreign affairs, Villy
Sovndal, said in an interview when asked about China's bid to
join.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said that all of the
Nordic countries agreed that all of the applicants should be
allowed in. But Mr. Barth Eide said that, days ahead of the
meeting, the Nordic countries are unclear on the views of Canada,
the U.S. and Russia.
"We will do some intense work at the meeting in Kiruna to
clarify this as fast as possible," he said.
Canada has so far expressed caution about expanding the council,
arguing that increased numbers could complicate its work, reduce
focus on the Arctic's indigenous populations and take the meetings
away from the actual Arctic.
Leona Aglukkaq, minister of the Canadian Northern Economic
Development Agency, said the admission of extra observers is a
"serious issue."
"My concern has always been the roles of the indigenous
participants and...that their voices are not diminished," said Ms.
Aglukkaq, who was raised in the Arctic.
A U.S. official said a final decision had yet to be taken about
granting China observer status. On Friday, the White House unveiled
its National Strategy for the Arctic Region, promising to advance
its security interests, protect the Arctic environment and
strengthen international cooperation in a "changing" Arctic.
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