China Is Conducting ‘Problematic’ Research in Arctic, US Lawmakers Warn

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) speaks during the China Forum in Washington on Sept. 25, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The House China panel has called on the State Department and the Pentagon to take stronger action to address “problematic” Chinese research in the Arctic that could be used for both civilian and military applications, saying that these activities may pose significant security risks to the United States and its NATO allies.

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) outlined its concerns in an Oct. 16. letter addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“In recent years, the PRC has increased its effort to seek access to and exert influence in the Arctic, including expanding dual civil-military research efforts in the region,” Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman and ranking Democrat member of the panel, respectively, wrote in a letter, using the acronym of communist China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

“The Arctic is critical to U.S. national security interests and the defense of our homeland, and we must work with our allies to preserve our defense treaty commitments.”

The lawmakers pointed out that China’s “access to the Arctic for satellite communication ground stations and scientific research greatly expands the operational effectiveness of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and furthers the PRC’s global ambitions.”

The bipartisan panel wants to know, among other things, how the U.S. government evaluates the threats posed by Chinese research involvement in the Arctic, especially “in terms of missile defense, submarine detection, and satellite tracking capabilities.”

The lawmakers requested a response by Nov. 15.

China has teamed up with Russia to expand its military and coast guard presence in the Arctic region, which harbors an estimated 13 percent of the planet’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its undiscovered natural gas reserves, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Earlier this month, China announced that its coast guard vessels had ventured into the Arctic Ocean for the first time, conducting patrols alongside Russian ships in waters where the CCP had long sought to exert its influence.

Despite being 900 miles away from the Arctic Circle, China has declared itself a “near-Arctic” state and has added the “Polar Silk Road” to its Belt and Road Initiative, a multibillion-dollar project aimed at bolstering Beijing’s geopolitical sway by building ports, railways, and other infrastructure worldwide.

China’s Research Stations in NATO Allies

Norway’s Svalbard archipelago is a crucial location for the CCP’s Arctic ambitions, the lawmakers pointed out in the letter.

The first Chinese research station, the Arctic Yellow River Station, was established in Svalbard in 2004. Among the organizations operating at the station is the China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation (CRIRP), a unit of China Electronics Technology Group Corp., which the Pentagon designated as a military-controlled company.

The lawmakers said that some CRIRP projects in Svalbard, as registered at the Norwegian government’s Research in Svalbard portal, could have “significant military uses.”

“CRIRP replicated these projects in its research collocation with PLA units, enhancing the PRC’s military capabilities, particularly in areas such as missile guidance, over-the-horizon radar detection, satellite communications, space object tracking, early warning systems, electronic warfare, submarine detection, and strategic communication and control in polar regions,” LJ Eads, who founded the Data Abyss, an open-source intelligence platform funded by the Pentagon, was quoted as saying in the letter.

In addition to Norway, China also operates research centers in another NATO member state, Iceland.

The China–Iceland Arctic Science Observatory (CIAO) was formally established in 2018, but according to lawmakers, data collection began in 2013, a year after the Polar Research Institute of China and the University of Iceland signed an agreement to establish CIAO.

According to the letter, data collected by CIAO have never been made publicly available despite assurances of open access.

The lawmakers expressed concern that China could use this data to improve the “accuracy of its radar systems that detect submarines, ships, and aircraft across long distances, thereby improving military surveillance and target tracking.”

The letter cited a 2021 research paper, stating that the riometer and antenna system deployed at CIAO “covers a large area in the Denmark Strait.”

Gregory Falco, a professor of systems engineering at Cornell University, told the House panel that this system can monitor the strategic submarine traffic of the U.S. and NATO through the GIUK Gap, the naval choke point encompassing the seas between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK.

Lawmakers also noted that by 2023, the Polar Research Institute of China, a subordinate directly under China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, had poured approximately $5 million into the observatory, covering almost all of its expenses.

“Although some Icelandic stakeholders raised concerns regarding the security implications of the research conducted and planned at CIAO, no formal security review has taken place,” the letter reads. “Icelandic law currently lacks specific provisions for national security-related review in such cases.”

Iceland has no military, and under a 1951 defense treaty, the United States is responsible for the island nation’s defense under the NATO umbrella.

The lawmakers urged Washington to support Iceland in conducting a national security review of research activities carried out by Chinese scientists and to halt any Chinese research used for military purposes on Icelandic territory.

The State Department said it doesn’t comment on congressional correspondence but highlighted the U.S. concerns about the CCP’s growing presence in the Arctic region.

“We have growing concerns about the PRC’s increased activities and presence in the Arctic, including dual-use capable scientific research, which could be used for future military operations,” a department spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email.

“As the PRC engages in the Arctic, we encourage it to uphold international standards of transparency, rule of law, and accountability and to abide by its international legal obligations.”

The Pentagon didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment by publication time.