Top of the World - Bolstering Readiness and Capability Across the North Polar Region

摘要

The Arctic, long considered an almost worthless backwater, is primed to become one of the most strategically important regions in the world as its ice melts. Unlike every other maritime area in the world, there is no overarching legal treaty governing the Arctic. The Arctic Council, made up of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the US, oversees and coordinates policy, but has no regulatory power. The countries only use the Council to communicate on policy and research and each member state is free to pursue its own policies within their declared Arctic boundaries. As the Arctic ice melts, the area is predicted to become a centre of strategic competition and economic activity. In 2013, China signed a free trade agreement with Iceland and sent an icebreaker to the region despite having no viable claims in the Arctic.