WRANGEL Island is as remote as it gets. This speck of land in the Arctic Ocean far north of Siberia is where the last mammoths lived. Today it is rich in wildlife, one of the most important polar bear breeding grounds and UNESCO鈥檚 most northerly World Heritage Site. Some call it the Galapagos of the north. It鈥檚 a shame, then, that has just built a military post there.
The geopolitical shock waves of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Crimea and military meddling in eastern Ukraine are spreading poleward. The damaged relations with the West have unleashed a new cold war in the Arctic, with nature in the firing line.
Three years ago, miners and oil prospectors were hurtling north as the ice melted, in search of the last great fossil fuel bonanza. That rush has been snuffed out for now by the depressed prices of everything from copper to crude. Chevron, ExxonMobil and Statoil have all abandoned drilling in the Arctic Ocean. But just when it seemed safe for a few years, the region is suddenly full of soldiers.
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In March, 38,000 Russian soldiers and 50 ships and submarines were on around Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and all points north of Siberia. The build-up, , is part of a plan to create a 鈥渟elf-sufficient鈥� standing military force in the region by 2018. Two-thirds of its navy are on the north coast.
Meanwhile, Canada鈥檚 prime minister, Stephen Harper, has plans to spend billions of dollars on patrol ships and other kit to increase his country鈥檚 footprint in the Arctic. Can the US be far behind? The icy north has .
This sabre-rattling takes place amid territorial rows. Russia is about to lay claim to an extra 1.2 million square kilometres after 鈥減roved鈥� that large areas of the ocean floor are part of its continental shelf. The well-publicised planting of a Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole in 2007 was no idle stunt.
Russia鈥檚 aim, says , an international lawyer at Finland鈥檚 University of Lapland, is partly military, but partly to secure natural resources. Geologists are convinced that sedimentary layers under the ocean make it . Shell is the only Western oil firm set to drill in the frigid waters this year. But in Russia, they see long-term advantage rather than short-term financial risk. The Arctic鈥檚 only permanent offshore oil production platform is Russian.
In a sensible world, the international community would declare those reserves off limits in the interests of protecting the world from climate change. But in a sensible world, military forces would not be moving into such a fragile, pristine environment.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淚nto the wild鈥�
