The NIAS Arctic Series

Photo Source:
   NIAS Course on Global Politics
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS)
Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore
For any further information or to subscribe to GP alerts send an email to subachandran@nias.res.in

CWA # 184, 3 November 2019
The NIAS Arctic Series
The Polar Silk Route: China's ambitious search in the Arctic

  Harini Madhusudan

Chinese leaders make a conscious attempt to not provoke negative responses from the Arctic States and its critics while also ensuring that they are not excluded from having access to the Arctic. 

 

A significant component of China's Arctic Policy revolves around its idea of a 'Polar Silk Road,' a network of trade routes to the Arctic that would help ease global shipping. Early 2018, China released an official Arctic Policy Paper, which depicts how China views the myriad economic opportunities in the region. What are China's ambitions in the Arctic? How far is China committed to its aims in the Arctic? What are the challenges that these interests pose to the region?

The Northern Europe, the US and even Russia look at China's intentions in the Arctic with suspicion. Chinese leaders make a conscious attempt to not provoke negative responses from the Arctic States and its critics while also ensuring that they are not excluded from having access to the Arctic. 

Brief Background

With the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1925, China began showing the intent of participating in the Arctic. However, China's real participation can be seen from the late 1980s after they established the Polar Research Institute of China in Shanghai. In 1984 their first expedition took place and by 1996 they joined the International Arctic Science Committee. In 2013, China became an observer nation of the Arctic Council. 

In 2018, the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) made eight transits through the Arctic between Europe and China. Several of these were done by the Tian Hui, Tian You and Tian En two of which carried equipment to the wind power industry, which was delivered to buyers in Europe. The Voyage was through the East Siberian Sea and the Vilkitsky Strait, and the difficult part of it was that the level of ice coverage in that part was upto 90 per cent. 

Early 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, singled out China on its Arctic ambitions and claimed that the Arctic has become an arena for power and competition. Chinese goals in the Arctic make perfect sense to their exports. As an export-based economy, shipping through the Northern Sea Route of Siberia or through the transpolar route would be up to 30 per cent lesser than going through the Malacca and the Suez. 

To increase its influence in the region, China has adopted two specific strategies. First, they have used trade and investments in the littoral states of Arctic with multiple projects that promise economic benefits, playing on the idea of multilateralism that the region holds and has gained relevance in the politics of the region. Second, they have invested in the Arctic oil, gas and resources. China heavily invests on the research component of the Arctic. Their major focuses are on "Arctic geology, geography, hydrology, meteorology, sea ice, biology, ecology, geophysics and marine chemistry. China also monitors "local climatic and environmental changes," collects data on "bio-ecological character and environmental quality."

Vostok 2018

Northern European and the US are all suspicious of China's intentions in the Arctic. In August 2018, China launched a joint military partnership with Russia, where China took part in the annual military exercises with Russia. It was a display of military might where the Tsugoi training range was transformed into a simulated battlefield; where the Russian and Chinese coalition fought a fictional adversary. Popularly called the Vostok, these exercises have been the largest that Russia has staged since its Cold War time drills in 1981. It became an advertisement for the growing military partnership between Moscow and Beijing. 

Security and Suspicion

All players in the Arctic are viewed with suspicion but in the case of China, the actions and words mean different things. On the one hand, they are seen as promoting free and open access by also calling it 'Global Commons'; on the other, they are building their technology and military abilities to suit the requirements of the region. Xi Jinping has also placed the Polar Silk Route ambition of China on their Belt and Road program. 

One way to look at it, is that China has a significant interest in the resources of the region. The other one would be that China is using the opportunity the Arctic opens and is ensuring that it part-take or even lead in being the exporter of crucial technology required in the Arctic region. As an export economy, China could just be grabbing an important opportunity. Often concerns over China's intentions are perceived alongside that of Russia's but the truth is, China and Russia too have sufficient suspicion of each other. Reality is in the middle of the two ends. Neither is China a massive threat to everything the Arctic nor is multilateralism their only goal in the Arctic.

In its Arctic report of 2018, China has clearly stated that it intends to increase its Arctic expeditions and create nautical maps for open use. These scientific interests provide China with legitimate access to the regions waters and also technical capabilities to monitor the region. According to research conducted by PLA, Arctic navigation and satellite surveillance technology have been identified as a priority by China's military establishment. This knowledge and capacity-building efforts by China is seen as a security threat in the Arctic by the US in its latest Arctic policy.  

To conclude, China is balancing both its internal strategic interests as well as international skepticism of its role in the Arctic. However, multiple legal challenges remain for China, for example, China's legal stance on the Arctic contradicts its stance with the South China Sea dispute. However, one could expect them to succeed in claiming the two interests China holds; the commercial opportunities and ensuring their claims in the region are intact. China has a keen awareness of the security implications of its Arctic presence, and it is likely addressing the need to devote resources to prepare for them. Such a shift does not necessarily translate into China becoming an aggressive player in the Arctic, because many Arctic countries can be seen doing similar things to ensure their safety in the region.

 

The NIAS Arctic Series

Rashmi Ramesh
The EU and the Arctic: The interest is not mutual. Why?
CWA #250, 28 March 2020

Rashmi Ramesh
Iceland, Denmark and Norway: Small is Big in the Arctic
CWA #249, 28 March 2020

Harini Madhusudan
The Non-Arctic powers: Assessing the interests of Japan and South Korea
CWA #248, 28 March 2020

Rashmi Ramesh
The Arctic Littorals: Iceland and Greenland
CWA #185, 3 November 2019

Harini Madhusudan
The Polar Silk Route: China's ambitious search in the Arctic
CWA #184, 3 November 2019

Parikshith Pradeep
The Scientific Imbalance: Is technology rightly being invested in the Arctic?
CWA #183, 3 November 2019

D. Suba Chandran
Why an Arctic foray is essential for India
CWA #177, 27 October 2019

Parikshith Pradeep
Russia's Polar Military Edge
CWA #176, 27 October 2019

Print Bookmark

PREVIOUS COMMENTS

NIAS Global Politics Database
March 2024 | CWA # 1251

NIAS Africa Team

Africa This Week
NIAS Global Politics Database
February 2024 | CWA # 1226

NIAS Africa Team

Africa This Week
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1189

Hoimi Mukherjee | Hoimi Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science in Bankura Zilla Saradamani Mahila Mahavidyapith.

Chile in 2023: Crises of Constitutionality
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1187

Aprajita Kashyap | Aprajita Kashyap is a faculty of Latin American Studies, School of International Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi.

Haiti in 2023: The Humanitarian Crisis
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1185

Binod Khanal | Binod Khanal is a Doctoral candidate at the Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi.

The Baltic: Energy, Russia, NATO and China
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1183

Padmashree Anandhan | Padmashree Anandhan is a Research Associate at the School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangaluru.

Germany in 2023: Defence, Economy and Energy Triangle
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1178

​​​​​​​Ashok Alex Luke | Ashok Alex Luke is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at CMS College, Kottayam.

China and South Asia in 2023: Advantage Beijing?
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1177

Annem Naga Bindhu Madhuri | Annem Naga Bindhu Madhuri is a postgraduate student at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at the University of Madras, Chennai.

China and East Asia
The War in Ukraine
October 2023 | CWA # 1091

Annem Naga Bindhu Madhuri

Issues for Europe
IPRI Quarterly Forecasts I Triggers, Trends, and Trajectories
July 2023 | CWA # 1012

Bibhu Prasad Routray

Myanmar continues to burn
2022: The World This Year
December 2022 | CWA # 879

Padmashree Anandhan

The Ukraine War
Europe: Heatwaves, Wildfires, Droughts, and Ice Melt in Alps
November 2022 | CWA # 838

Rishma Banerjee

Tracing Europe's droughts
NIAS Africa Weekly
March 2022 | CWA # 705

NIAS Africa Team

In Focus: Libya
The World This Week: 150th Issue
December 2021 | CWA # 630

GP Team

Europe in 2021
Pakistan Reader
October 2021 | CWA # 588

Abigail Miriam Fernandez

TLP is back again
NIAS Fortnightly on Science, Technology & International Relations
August 2021 | CWA # 528

STIR Team

Space Tourism
Science, Technology and International Relations
September 2019 | CWA # 162

Lakshman Chakravarthy N

5G: A Primer
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 71

Mahesh Bhatta | Centre for South Asian Studies, Kathmandu

Nepal
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 70

Nasima Khatoon | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

The Maldives
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 69

Harini Madhusudan | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

India
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 68

Sourina Bej | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

Bangladesh
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 67

Seetha Lakshmi Dinesh Iyer | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

Afghanistan