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'America’s got to up its game in the Arctic' - Mattis


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'America’s got to up its game in the Arctic' - Mattis

 

2018-06-25T232309Z_1_LYNXMPEE5O26Q_RTROPTP_3_ASIA-SECURITY.JPG

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis speaks at the IISS Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore June 2, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su

 

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (Reuters) - The United States needs to "up its game" in the Arctic and deal with an increasingly important and developing part of the world, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday, as a warming Arctic opens up new sea lanes and oil and minerals reserves.

 

"Certainly America’s got to up its game in the Arctic. There’s no doubt about that," Mattis told reporters in Alaska before leaving on an Asia trip.

 

Mattis said part of that would be an increased coast guard presence.

 

Warming in the Arctic has raised the prospect of a new rush for resources. The Arctic is estimated to hold more hydrocarbon reserves than Saudi Arabia and Russia.

 

"So the reality is that we’re going to have to deal with the developing Arctic ... It is also going to open not just to transport but also to energy exploration," Mattis said.

 

The United States and Russia have both expressed interest in boosting Arctic drilling, and Russia has bolstered its military presence in the north.

 

Russia, which is in the midst of a major rearmament program, has embarked upon its biggest military push in the Arctic since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, beefing up its military presence and capabilities.

 

Under President Vladimir Putin, Moscow is rushing to re-open abandoned Soviet military, air and radar bases on remote Arctic islands and build new ones as it pushes ahead with a claim to almost half a million square miles of the Arctic.

 

Also, earlier this year China outlined ambitions to extend President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming.

 

China’s increasing prominence in the region has prompted concerns from Arctic states over its long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployment.

 

Republican Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska, standing alongside Mattis, said there was bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress to see the Arctic in more strategic terms.

 

"I agree with the secretary, I think we're behind, but I think we're finally starting to catch up," Sullivan said.

 

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Writing by Idrees Ali; Editing by James Dalgleish)

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-26
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11 hours ago, webfact said:

Mattis said part of that would be an increased coast guard presence.

Sorry General Mattis but that just doesn't fit into Trump's Space Force.

Maybe you can build a big, beautiful snow wall around the Arctic. Tell Trump it's to keep illegal Russian immigrants out of the US.

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6 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Sorry General Mattis but that just doesn't fit into Trump's Space Force.

Maybe you can build a big, beautiful snow wall around the Arctic. Tell Trump it's to keep illegal Russian immigrants out of the US.

 

If only Game of Thrones was a Fox show....

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As usual, President Trump hating ad nauseum. Seems to me that he's been trying to deal with Russia for his whole time in office with a certain democratic witch-hunt curtailing his every effort. He also started repealing Obama policies preventing exploration in the North and rebuilding the military since he took office.

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On 6/26/2018 at 2:43 PM, VocalNeal said:

The US had better get busy?  They could also be nice to their neighbor?

 

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Their are already quite a few diamond mines in the arctic.

 

Having looked at this map the US doesn't have much territory around the Arctic ocean. Russia has the most, followed by Canada Greenland and Norway.

 

These are all countries that the USA has managed to upset in the last 18 months.

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2 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

I hear that the Emperor penguins of Adelaide Island in Antarctica are getting pesky too!

 

They have been known to give "the flipper" to passing US warships-thereby endangering the freedom of the seas..

I believe, if you check, those would be Russian war ships. The US Arctic fleet was the 7th which is being rebuilt after Obama.

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3 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

As usual, President Trump hating ad nauseum. Seems to me that he's been trying to deal with Russia for his whole time in office with a certain democratic witch-hunt curtailing his every effort. He also started repealing Obama policies preventing exploration in the North and rebuilding the military since he took office.

Trump is his own worst enemy. The OP announcement is a follow on from a US Navy Arctic Roadmap released in 2014 under Obama, nearly the same executive overview, including issues generated by Global Warming - Will Trump at some time again articulate blatant lies to cover his arse when faced with facts he cannot deny?

 

https://news.usni.org/2014/02/24/document-navys-2014-arctic-roadmap

 

Many (majority of US citizens?) would disagree with the necessity for opening up previously environmentally protected areas, including the spiteful reversal of Obama era legislation.

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5 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

Having looked at this map the US doesn't have much territory around the Arctic ocean. Russia has the most, followed by Canada Greenland and Norway.

 

These are all countries that the USA has managed to upset in the last 18 months.

 

Them pesky Greenlanders...

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5 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

I hear that the Emperor penguins of Adelaide Island in Antarctica are getting pesky too!

 

They have been known to give "the flipper" to passing US warships-thereby endangering the freedom of the seas..

 

 

Quote
“I see only one solution," said St. Augustine. "The penguins will go to hell." "But they have no soul," observed St. Irenaeus. "It is a pity"" sighed Tertullian.”

― Anatole France, Penguin Island

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16 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

Having looked at this map the US doesn't have much territory around the Arctic ocean. Russia has the most, followed by Canada Greenland and Norway.

 

These are all countries that the USA has managed to upset in the last 18 months.

So, what's your point?

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