US closely monitoring Russian & Chinese military moves in Arctic

Washington: The United States is keeping a close eye on the increasing military activities and the motives of Russia and China in the Arctic region. This is a very peaceful area and the United States is ready to do anything to maintain the peace here, warned Pentagon, the US Defence Headquarters. A few hours ago, the Russian military tested an anti-ship missile in the Arctic. Meanwhile, ships of the Chinese Navy entered the Arctic from the US Alaska. Against this backdrop, the Pentagon appears to have warned Russia and China.

Moreover, the Russian army conducts live firing exercises in Chukotka Peninsula. At this time, the Russian Navy used Granit and Onyx anti-ship missiles. Russian nuclear-powered submarines participated in this exercise. This time, Russian missiles can easily hit the target at 400 kilometres. This is Russia’s second military exercise in recent days amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

A week ago, Russia demonstrated its strength with the Vostok exercise. Within a few hours after the missile test conducted by Russia, the United States expressed concern over the military developments in the Arctic region. Greg Pollock, head of the Pentagon’s ‘Arctic and Global Resilience’ department, mentioned the military activities of Russia and China in the Arctic region during a virtual address at an event. Pollock said the US is increasingly concerned about the security and stability of the Arctic. For this purpose, Pollock informed that the United States had put its 16 intelligence agencies to work.

The Arctic region of the Northern Hemisphere is claimed by the United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, as is Russia. Of this, Russia controls 500,000 square kilometres of the Arctic. Russia dominates regions from the Barents Sea to the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Bering Gulf. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the Arctic region a strategic priority in his national security policy.

President Putin emphasized that the Arctic is vital politically, militarily, economically, environmentally, technologically and in terms of mineral resources. Russia is extracting large amounts of fuel and gas from the Arctic region. Due to such importance of the Arctic region, China has also augmented its intervention in this region by adopting the ‘Near Arctic’ policy over the last few years. Pentagon official Greg Pollock pointed out that Chinese naval ships are increasingly making trips to the Arctic. Meanwhile, earlier this month, the East Economic Forum meeting was held in Vladivostok, Russia. In this, China announced increasing cooperation with Russia in the Arctic region. The Pentagon has since given this warning.