Russia’s isolation is forcing it to look to China for support in the Arctic, raising U.S. concerns

Russia has stepped up cooperation with China to expand its foothold in the Arctic, with significant implications for U.S. national security, says a new report.

Reeling under the financial and diplomatic impacts of its war in Ukraine, Russia has stepped up cooperation with China to expand its foothold in the Arctic, with significant implications for U.S. national security, according to a new private intelligence report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long prioritized military and economic expansion in the Arctic as a key facet of his geopolitical strategy and ambitions, and after the 2014 annexation of Crimea, he began cooperating with China in the region. But after it sought to limit the involvement of the People’s Republic, Russia recently has invited much greater Chinese participation, says the report by Strider Technologies, a firm that focuses on open-source intelligence. 

“Russia’s increasing willingness to allow the PRC in the Arctic demonstrates the realness of their ‘no-limits’ partnership and its potential counterbalance to U.S.-led alliances,” the report says.

For decades, the report adds, Russia actively excluded China and other non-Arctic countries from playing a role there, including denying Chinese scientists the opportunity to conduct research and refusing to help China build icebreakers or share designs.

Members of China's Arctic Ocean scientific expedition team aboard the polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 on Aug. 6.Wei Hongyi / Xinhua via Getty Images fileBut Russia’s increasing economic and diplomatic isolation is forcing the Kremlin to change its approach, Strider found. The seven other countries that are members of the Arctic Council have suspended their cooperation with Russia, forcing it to seek partnerships with China that Strider says previously would have been unthinkable. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-china-join-forces-arctic-rcna137591

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