Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

Topic: Militarisation of the Arctic

Why in News?

• A day after Russia defended its military activities in the Arctic region, the United States wanted to avoid a military build-up in the Arctic.

Concerns

• As climate change makes the Arctic more accessible, interest in the region’s natural resources, its navigation routes and its strategic position has grown among countries bordering the Arctic as well as China.
• That increases the dangers or prospects of accidents and undermines the shared goal of a peaceful and sustainable future for the region.

Background

• President Vladimir Putin has in recent years made Russia’s Arctic region a strategic priority and ordered investment in military infrastructure and mineral extraction, exacerbating tensions with Arctic Council members.

About Arctic Council

• The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
• It was formally established in 1996 by the Ottawa declaration.
• In the Ottawa Declaration, the eight Arctic States, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States, established the Council as a high-level forum to provide means for promoting cooperation and coordination.
• The Council has members, ad hoc observer countries and "permanent participants"
• As of May 2019, thirteen non-Arctic states have Observer status. These are: Germany, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, China, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Switzerland.