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Ulviyya Poladova

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For a long time, the Arctic was associated with the "dead land" of the North and was not considered a place suitable for economic activity or human life. Today, however, it is increasingly seen as a valuable and strategically important region. This shift is largely connected to the natural resources hidden beneath its surface. Climate change and the melting of Arctic ice are only making these resources easier to access.

Interest in the Arctic increased sharply in 2009 after the United States Geological Survey estimated that the region contained 13% of the world's undiscovered oil reserves and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas. The Arctic is also a vast storehouse of rare-earth elements, nickel, gold, and other materials that are extremely important for the defense industry and modern technology. Shrinking ice cover and technological advances are making the extraction of these resources increasingly possible, intensifying competition over them.

Over the past ten years, global warming has renewed international interest in the Arctic. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the period from October 2024 to September 2025 was the warmest recorded in the Arctic in the past 125 years. This contributed to ice loss, with the area covered by ice reaching a record low for these northern latitudes. These changes could expand shipping and support the development of alternative transport and logistics corridors.

Around 60 countries are currently expressing ambitions related to the development of the Arctic. The world's major powers, particularly Russia, the United States, and China, are showing the greatest interest.

It is important to emphasize that the Arctic does not belong to any single state. Under international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the land, islands, and coastal waters of the region are divided among eight Arctic states: Russia, Canada, the United States, Norway, Denmark through Greenland, Iceland, Finland, and Sweden.

Last year, the Arctic frequently appeared in international news. First, President Donald Trump began actively discussing his desire to buy Greenland, which is located in the Arctic, and to make Canada part of the United States. Later, during US-Russian negotiations concerning the war in Ukraine, proposals for mutual cooperation in the Arctic unexpectedly emerged. In addition, the area of Arctic sea ice fell to the lowest level ever recorded in March.

Ice in the Arctic Ocean always melts during the summer. Because of the climate crisis, however, it no longer returns in winter in the same volume, and the remaining ice becomes thinner every year. Areas of dark ocean exposed by melting ice do not reflect the Sun's rays. Instead, they absorb heat, causing the ocean itself to warm and contributing to climate changes across the planet. At the same time, melting Arctic ice creates new opportunities for people. This mainly concerns the Northwest Passage, a sea route through the islands of northern Canada connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the Northern Sea Route, which runs through Russia's northern waters.

The Financial Times reports that the Chinese shipping company Sea Legend, which specializes in the Turkish and North African markets, will launch the first regular container service through the Arctic this week. The route will connect the Chinese city of Ningbo with the British port of Felixstowe and will run along Russia's northern coast.

Sea Legend has named it the "Ice Silk Road," referring to the historical Silk Road that once connected China and Europe. Depending on Arctic conditions, the journey between the two ports could take roughly half the usual 40 days. During the summer, sea ice retreats far enough north that the voyage may not require icebreaker support.

It is not yet clear how efficient this route will be. The Arctic presents serious challenges for sailors, who need experience navigating among ice fields. They sometimes have to operate without reliable GPS, as satellite navigation systems can experience problems at such high latitudes.

Several years ago, Maersk company sent its first container ship along an Arctic route between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg. However, the Danish carrier and many other European companies later promised not to use the route because of concerns about damaging the Arctic's fragile ecosystem.

The Arctic is becoming a space of competition among Russia, the United States, and China, where military, economic, transport, and environmental interests intersect.

The Cold War brought militarization to the Arctic ice. The shortest distance between the United States and the Soviet Union runs across the North Pole, made the Arctic a potential conflict zone between the two superpowers. Beginning in the 1950s, both sides actively established military bases there and used scientific stations for intelligence gathering. Later, during the 1980s, secret submarine operations were conducted in the Arctic. Submarines entered foreign-controlled areas, mapped the region, and monitored potential adversaries.

For a time after the Cold War, the region was characterized by cooperation. In 1996, eight countries - the United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland - established the Arctic Council. Among its main purposes were environmental protection, cultural cooperation, and scientific research.

Beginning in the 2000s, however, competition in the region started growing rapidly. Global warming and the reduction of ice cover pushed the Arctic into the center of world politics by creating new opportunities for economic activity, including commercial shipping and mineral extraction.

Arctic ambitions are not limited to trade. The region is a cornerstone of the country's strategy for maintaining its military and economic power. This causes serious concern in the United States and among its allies, especially as climate change accelerates the melting of ice and opens new routes of access.

Russia has dozens of icebreakers, including nuclear-powered vessels, while the United States is somewhat behind. The last heavy polar icebreaker built by the United States, the Polar Star, entered service almost 50 years ago, in 1976. Washington is now rapidly expanding its fleet, and the United States has signed contracts for 11 new Arctic Security Cutters.

China, meanwhile, has spent years trying to build stronger relations with Western Arctic countries, but it has not yet achieved major success. This is largely because European countries are reluctant to allow China close access to their resources. In 2016, the Chinese company Leshan Shenghe invested in the development of rare-earth minerals in Greenland. The project was later frozen after Greenland introduced restrictions on mineral extraction in 2021 following protests by the local population. China also offered to finance the renovation of Greenland's airports, but Denmark blocked the initiative because it feared the growth of Chinese influence. In 2024, Norway prevented a Chinese buyer from purchasing land in Svalbard, citing a potential threat to "Norwegian interests." According to the RAND research center, China's greatest achievement in the Arctic so far may be the fact that it has started a broader discussion about whether non-Arctic states should be allowed to play a role in the region. Beijing maintains that its objectives in the Arctic are entirely peaceful and scientific.

The melting of Arctic ice is radically changing the region's economic landscape. According to some forecasts, year-round navigation in the Arctic Ocean could become possible by the end of the decade. On the one hand, this creates favorable prospects for using new transport corridors and extracting the region's vast natural resources. On the other hand, it could intensify competition and geopolitical tensions. The war in Iran, which is drawing Washington's attention and resources toward the Middle East, could become a catalyst for a faster struggle over Arctic resources and transport routes.

A little conspiracy theory

At different times, people have promoted conspiracy theories about the polar regions, including claims about secret laboratories. Conspiracy theorists believe that Arctic is an ideal location for closed experiments. It is difficult to reach, there are no accidental witnesses, and the low temperatures and polar night make everything appear even more mysterious. Some believe that entire complexes exist beneath the ice, where climate weapons and genetic projects are being tested.