The United States on May 6 responded to aggressive ambitions by China and Russia in the Arctic by warning the two nations against further militarization of the region and announcing measures to deter a military threat.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told members of the Arctic Council in Finland that the “region has become an arena for power and for competition.” In less than five years, Russia has renovated Cold-War era military bases in the region and constructed 475 new military sites, Pompeo said. Meanwhile, China has engaged in a campaign of strategic influence which threatens to transform the Arctic “into a new South China Sea,” Pompeo said.
