By Marina Malenic
The changing landscape of the Arctic region has heightened the need for the incoming Obama administration to revise U.S. Arctic policy, the top general in charge of North American security said yesterday.
“We have advocated for a re-look at U.S. Arctic policy,” said Northern Command (NORTHCOM) chief Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart. “We’ve been a strong supporter of a whole of government look on our policies regarding the Arctic. They’re dated.”
Noting the recession of polar ice in recent years, Renuart noted that there are now more navigable waters in the region.
“That then allows for increased traffic in that area, certainly more research and study of the Arctic, and potentially the desire among some nations to harvest whatever resources might be available to us,” he told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington.
“Any time nations converge on an area to either compete for or collectively mine natural resources, there is a possibility…that their interests will not coincide,” he added.
This summer, Renuart was quoted in the Canadian press saying that Canada is seeking “ports of call for industrial movement through there, that will change the investment strategy that businesses and nations have in that region.” He also acknowledged Ottawa’s intent to “put a military base up in the Northwest Passage area.”
The U.S. Coast Guard has advocated an increase in U.S. icebreaker presence in the region and has opened two temporary stations on the nation’s northernmost waters. But additional military assets may be needed, according to Renuart.
“If nothing else, you need to have a search-and-rescue capability that can assist up there,” he said.
Renuart also reiterated the Pentagon’s support for the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the United States has yet to ratify.
Doing so would allow Washington “to have a seat at the table in discussions among, not just Arctic-interested nations, but all nations as it relates to movement and traffic in international waters,” Renuart said.
This past summer, icebreakers from China, Germany, Japan and the United States have navigated the waters off Canada’s northern coast to gather geological data and to conduct climate research.
“We’ve also had a Chinese research vessel in the Arctic this season,” Renuart said. “We’ve had seven cruise ships pass through there during the summertime.”
Renuart also oversees the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). NORAD is a joint Canadian and U.S. organization that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty and defense for the continent.
“Having common ground there…with good support from both governments is also important,” he said.
Renuart noted, however, that the two neighbors don’t always see eye-to-eye on how territorial waters are delineated.
“I think the nations are moving closer to agreement on that,” he said. “But on all the other defense-related issues, there is no daylight between the two countries.”