Canadian Forces soldiers patrol past old survey markers at the decommissioned DEW Line Facility on Lady Franklin Point, Nunavut on Sept. 30.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
The Chinese government says it opposes Canada’s new Arctic foreign policy, which identifies Beijing as a potential threat in the region and discusses how China, despite having no territory in the Far North, is gaining a foothold there through Russia.
The Canadian government on Friday released a document detailing this policy, including its plans to talk with allies to protect the Arctic from military and economic challenges posed by Russia and China.
The policy also envisions a major role for the United States and it notably reframes the Far North as the “North American Arctic,” a phrase Ottawa uses 13 times in the document.
It identifies a number of what it calls “potential threats” in the Arctic including China’s regular deployment of “dual-use” research vessels and surveillance platforms – with both civilian and military applications – that are being used to collect data in the region.
“Russia and China are aligned in their desire to undermine the liberal rules-based international system,” the new Arctic foreign policy says.
Although it has no territory in the Arctic, China is rapidly building up its presence in the region through Russia. Moscow is facing a severe budget crunch from its military assault on Ukraine and increasingly relies on unprecedented levels of Chinese corporate and state investment to develop its Arctic region. China’s northernmost tip is about 1,500 kilometres from the Arctic.
The Chinese embassy in Canada on Friday posted a written statement on its website criticizing Ottawa.
“The Canadian government issued a so-called ‘Arctic Foreign Policy,’ which distorts and misinterprets China’s Arctic policy and discredits China’s normal Arctic activities in accordance with international law,” the embassy said. “China firmly opposes it.”
Beijing’s mission in Ottawa said China deserves a role in the region.
“Arctic affairs are not only about the Arctic countries, but also bear on the greater interests of the international community,” the embassy said. “As an important stakeholder to Arctic affairs, China has always participated in Arctic affairs and strengthened co-operation with all parties on the basic principles of respect, co-operation, win-win result and sustainability. China is committed to upholding peace and stability and promoting sustainable development in the Arctic.”
Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said China has been styling itself as a “near-Arctic” country in recent years and is eager to gain access to natural resources in Canada’s north.
He said he can see why Canada’s new policy would upset Beijing. “Of course, they want to pretend that they just have good intentions,” Mr. Saint-Jacques said of China.
Ottawa announced last Friday it would open a consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, as part of its Arctic strategy – a move that Mr. Saint-Jacques said makes sense given China’s interest in the Danish territory in recent years. “The Chinese are very present in Greenland,” he said.
“Threats to Canada’s security are no longer bounded by geography,” Canada’s Arctic policy document says, adding that climate change is accelerating rapidly and opening up northern waters to more vessel traffic and “non-Arctic states, including China,” are also seeking a greater role in governance of the region.
Russian and Chinese nuclear-capable strategic bombers patrolled near the U.S. state of Alaska in the North Pacific and Arctic in July. Chinese and Russian coast-guard ships sailed together through the Bering Strait in October.
China wants to create a “Polar Silk Road” in the Arctic, a new shipping route as the polar ice sheet recedes with rising temperatures.
China and Russia have been working together to develop Arctic shipping routes as Russia seeks to deliver more oil and gas to China amid Western sanctions, while China seeks an alternative shipping route in order to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.
-With a report from Reuters