Panel: China Making Aggressive Moves in the Arctic

As China expands its influence, Beijing believes it can claim access to any region on earth – including the Arctic, three experts on maritime security said Friday.

Beijing is spreading economic and political influence through One Belt/One Road plane across Asia, into Africa and now the Caribbean. The includes the establishment of China’s first overseas military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and eventually, the Arctic, Katie Burkhart, from the Coast Guard commandant’s advisory group said, speaking at a special forum sponsored by the Army-Navy Club and the Center for International Maritime Security.

China has pushed to be designated a member of the Arctic Council. Membership is restricted to nations bordering the Arctic. Beijing has observer status.

Working with Russia, China is now exporting liquefied natural gas using the Northern Sea Route through Arctic waters and has stepped up monitoring of oceanographic conditions in the Far North from Svalbard, a Norwegian island that is open to international scientific research said Heather Havens, of the National Defense Industrial Association. 

Read the full article at U.S. Naval Institute