This week, we explore the players and the game in the Arctic-Pacific through:
- The Big Picture: Arctic Pacific Comes into Focus
- Lat & Long: Return of the Snow Dragon II
- From the Field: Top of the World to Down Under
The Big Picture
Arctic-Pacific Comes into Focus
The Arctic‑Pacific is emerging as a distinct geopolitical space—a region where the Arctic’s shipping lanes, resource frontiers, and security challenges intersect with the Indo‑Pacific’s economic arteries and strategic rivalries. It links the North American Arctic, the Russian Far East, and the northern Pacific Rim, binding together Arctic states, Asian allies, and rising powers.
Within this interconnected theater, energy security has become a defining issue influencing both competition and cooperation. The proposed Alaska LNG project—an 800‑mile pipeline delivering Arctic gas to Pacific markets—could be one piece of a larger strategy to diversify Asia’s energy supply chains and reduce reliance on Russian and Middle Eastern sources.
Asian stakeholders have taken notice accordingly. Japan, which imports nearly all its energy and still sources ~10% from Russia, views Alaska LNG as a strategic hedge; Tokyo recently signaled its support via a new joint‑venture agreement with U.S. partners. Thailand has inked a 20‑year purchase agreement. Secretary-General to the President of Taiwan Mr. Pan Men-an noted that the Alaska LNG project could supply over 90% of Taiwan’s needs. India’s energy giant, GAIL, has initiated negotiations.
Energy security in the Arctic-Pacific has risen to the upper echelons of diplomatic discourse. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau specifically discussed energy cooperation in Alaska during his meeting with the Vice Foreign Ministers of Republic of Korea & Japan on July 18. They noted the “strong signal” sent by the convergence of multiple cabinet level leaders and foreign officials in Anchorage last month to examine the same issues. Continued interest by Pacific partners and allies in connecting with the U.S. Arctic suggests the focus on the Arctic-Pacific will continue to sharpen.
Power Plays
A smallboat crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley medevacs a man suffering a broken arm from the Chinese research vessel Xue Long, 15 nautical miles from Nome, Alaska in 2017.
Return of the Snowdragon II
At the same time as U.S. partners and allies make headway into the Arctic-Pacific, Russia and China also have demonstrated increased interest in the region. Earlier this month, China’s first domestically built research-capable icebreaker returned to Arctic waters along the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf roughly 290 nautical miles from Utqiagvik, Alaska. The Xue Long II, or Snow Dragon II, drew the attention of the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard, with both countries deploying aircraft in the vicinity of the vessel. China’s activities in the Arctic have ramped up in recent years, with the Snow Dragon II making an Arctic voyage both of the last two years. China uses “its scientific expedition platforms and research facilities to normalize [its] presence in the Arctic” and to conduct “dual-use research with intelligence or military applications.”
From the Field
U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 11th Airborne Division board a C-17 Globemaster at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, bound for exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
Top of the World to Down Under
Elements of Alaska based 11th Airborne Division took part in Exercise Talisman Sabre earlier this month. The mission offered a true test of power projection capabilities, requiring the U.S. Army paratroopers to fly across the world – crossing the dateline and the equator – a distance of over 6,000 miles from their home station in Anchorage to Queensland, Australia. The bilateral exercise with the Australians demonstrates the unit’s unique capabilities and Alaska’s strategic location. “Power projection from Alaska provides an alternative strategic avenue of approach into the nation’s priority theater,” the Pacific. Anchorage is situated within 10 hours flight time of 90% of the industrial world. Airborne!
