China approved as a formal observer state of the Arctic Council

 

At the eighth ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council held in Kiruna, a northern city of Sweden, on the morning of the 15th Swedish local time, China was approved as a formal observer state of the Arctic Council.

The foreign ministers of the eight Arctic Council countries granted formal observer status to China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, and Italy, but rejected eight entities including the EU and international organizations.

Gao Feng, China’s special representative for climate change negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency: “China applied back in 2006. Currently, China’s understanding of the Arctic is still limited. We need to first gain an in-depth understanding of the Arctic before we can better participate in international cooperation on Arctic affairs.”

Experts say that becoming a formal observer will determine China’s rights on future Arctic development issues and give it a “voice.”

“Arctic affairs will be handled by the countries in the region, or because of global warming, international economic potential, and other reasons — Arctic affairs are a global issue,” said Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States.

In fact, there is serious internal disagreement among the eight member states of the Arctic Council over expanding its size. Nordic countries hope to internationalize the Arctic, while Russia and Canada, which have more territory in the Arctic, strongly oppose it. A source from the Russian Foreign Ministry once said that Russia would try to persuade other Arctic Council member states to erect a “solid barrier” against non-Arctic countries such as the EU, China, and India. Russia does not want new players joining the game. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the 15th that Russia welcomes China and five other countries as formal observer states of the Arctic Council.

Analysts pointed out that the Arctic Council has set quite strict conditions for admitting observers, their obligations, and their authorities: for a country to become an observer, it must recognize the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Arctic coastal states over the Arctic. Only the eight Arctic nations can set the rules of conduct for all countries in the Arctic, which others must follow, while the rights of observer states are limited to funding for Arctic ecological protection, scientific research, and the like.

The Arctic and Antarctic are both polar regions, but the legal status of these two “white deserts” is completely different. According to the Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect in 1959, all areas south of the 60th parallel are not owned by any country, making Antarctica a jointly developed virgin land. However, in the Arctic, as early as 1920, people began developing offshore oil wells in Canada’s Mackenzie River Valley, although progress has been very slow.

The Arctic is rich in mineral, rare earth, and crude oil resources. According to a 2008 U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic Circle’s energy reserves account for about 22% of the world’s total technically recoverable but undiscovered resources, including 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and approximately 90 billion barrels of crude oil.

As the ice continues to melt, the Arctic Ocean will also see more waters available for navigation and military use. The Arctic’s ocean routes can be divided into the “Northeast Passage” and the “Northwest Passage.” Compared to the Panama Canal route, the Northwest Passage can shorten the journey between the east coast of North America and Asia by 6,500 kilometers. Moreover, the Arctic routes are free from pirate threats, and the domestic political situations of transit countries are relatively stable. Currently, German cargo ships and China’s Xue Long research vessel have both successfully used this route.

The Arctic used to attract only scientists. But ever since August 2, 2007, when members of Russia’s “Arctic-2007” expedition planted a Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole, signaling Russia’s claim to sovereignty, a new round of geopolitical competition in the Arctic has heated up. Unilateral and multilateral military exercises by various parties in the Arctic region have emerged one after another. In recent years, Arctic countries have successively introduced their own Arctic strategies, while non-Arctic countries have also shown growing interest in joining this “Arctic scramble.”

■ Russia prepares to form Arctic forces

In 2009, Russia stated it would establish an independent Arctic force unit to ensure the security of Russia’s part of the Arctic Ocean under various military and political situations.

■ The U.S. plans to build a permanent base in the Arctic

In March 2010, two U.S. nuclear submarines conducted high-profile exercises in the Arctic Ocean, and the U.S. also plans to establish a permanent base in the Arctic region.

■ Canada’s “Polar” satellite collects territorial information

The Canadian military conducted an exercise codenamed "Operation Nanook" in the Arctic in August 2011. The rest of the time, they rely on the "Polar" satellite, which can collect information across the entire territory within three weeks.

■ Norway relocates its main military base to the Arctic

Norway has moved its primary military base to the Arctic and has also invested unprecedented amounts of money in developing new military equipment, especially building five top-tier frigates.

■ Denmark and Canada engage in an Arctic "flag-planting" race

In 2003, Denmark planted its flag on Hans Island in the Arctic Ocean, leading to a deterioration in relations with Canada. Within two years of the first "flag-planting," Canada and Denmark engaged in a "flag-planting" competition to assert sovereignty.

■ Japan and South Korea race to become Arctic observer states

Japan applied to become an observer of the Arctic Council as early as 2009 and established its first "Arctic Ambassador" this March; the South Korean government sent senior diplomats to Sweden to "lobby for support" ahead of this week’s meeting.

Driven by the joint efforts of various countries and related international organizations, the geopolitical landscape of the Arctic has formed three new features.

First, the impact of post-Cold War climate warming and environmental changes on humanity constitutes a key issue in the Arctic. International organizations have played a unique role that sovereign states find difficult to address, resulting in a composite, multi-layered geopolitical structure in the Arctic today that includes non-governmental organizations beneath the state level.

Second, it exhibits globalized characteristics. The impacts of climate warming and the strategic importance of Arctic shipping routes extend far beyond the Arctic region itself. An increasing number of countries and blocs, including India and Australia, have begun actively participating in Arctic affairs. The U.S. missile defense system targeting major strategic powers in Eurasia is also deployed in the Arctic.

Finally, multiple geopolitical groups have formed among the stakeholders. The main geopolitical groupings in the Arctic include the Arctic Five, the Arctic Eight, and Barents Europe (the Barents Sea, located north of Norway and Russia, is one of the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean).

Disputes

■ Dispute 1: Can Arctic nations monopolize the shipping routes?

The Northeast Passage became navigable for the first time in 2005, and the Northwest Passage was also passable in the summer of 2007. These changes have raised questions about the right of passage—whether countries like Russia and Canada can treat these routes as internal waters or whether they should be considered international waterways. This will determine whether other countries have the right to freely use these passages.

■ Dispute 2: Is the "ocean enclosure movement" effective?

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states can delineate a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, a 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and a continental shelf. As a result, some coastal states try to maximize their jurisdictional waters, sparking a "blue enclosure movement." However, coastal states' rights to the continental shelf are not sovereignty but sovereign rights over the natural resources within it, meaning exclusive rights to explore and exploit those resources. The continental shelf is not the territory of the coastal state, and in this sense, there is a dispute over which country owns the Arctic Ocean.

■ Dispute 3: Can the Antarctic model be referenced?

In terms of resolving disputes, Antarctica provides a good example. Although countries currently have strong interests in enclosing and utilizing Antarctica, the international treaties surrounding Antarctica are relatively comprehensive, and land use in Antarctica is largely governed by rules in a form of "open warfare." In contrast, easing the hidden conflicts in the Arctic may still require drawing on the Antarctic model.

The international treaty directly related to the Arctic region is the 1925 Svalbard Treaty. As a signatory to the Svalbard Treaty, China has the right to access the archipelago in the Arctic for activities such as scientific research. As a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, China has the right to share the resources of the "Area" and access the high seas in the Arctic to exercise freedoms including marine scientific research.

Interest 1: The Northern Sea Route

China’s main trading partners are Western Europe and North America. Traveling from Shanghai through the Arctic to London can shorten the journey by over 7,000 nautical miles compared to going through the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal—this applies to ships under 100,000 tons. Ships over 100,000 tons must go around the Cape of Good Hope, and the Arctic route would cut that distance in half.

Interest 2: Energy security

Currently, China’s main energy supply depends on the Persian Gulf region, with transportation routes threatened by pirates and regional conflicts. If China can develop energy resources in the Arctic or utilize Arctic shipping routes, it can avoid these risks.

Interest 3: Overseas investment

China is increasingly becoming a major export market for Nordic countries, which also have the potential to attract Chinese direct investment. The infrastructure construction necessary for the development of the Nordic Arctic region requires substantial external funding, equipment, and labor. The development and export of Arctic resources need a steadily growing market, while China’s global resource diversification requires new sources.

The Arctic Council was established in 1996 as an intergovernmental organization composed of eight member states: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States. It primarily serves to consult and discuss matters related to the Arctic. In addition, six non-Arctic countries—France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom—are officially recognized as permanent observers.

Objectively speaking, the Arctic Council has achieved certain results in monitoring and assessing the Arctic environment, climate change, and promoting the participation of indigenous peoples in regional sustainable development. However, it also has clear inherent limitations, such as the absence of legally binding obligations and regulations, not being a strictly defined international organization, the limited participation of members, the lack of a permanent independent secretariat, and the absence of institutionalized funding sources, among others.

In 2007, China became a “Special Observer” of the Arctic Council. Zhang Yao from the Ocean and Polar Research Center at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies explained that the difference between a Special Observer and a Permanent Observer is that the former can only attend meetings upon invitation by Arctic Council member states, while the latter automatically enjoys the right to participate in the Council. Although Permanent Observers do not have voting rights, they possess the right to speak and propose projects, and hold legitimate rights on Arctic issues. A country can only become a Permanent Observer after obtaining unanimous approval from all eight Council member states and submitting an application.