The Arctic is melting at a rate that people cannot estimate. According to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Research Center, on September 16 this year, the Arctic's glacial coverage was only about 3.42 million square kilometers, the smallest since the satellite record in 1973. This latest data is a horrific milestone in global warming. From 1951 to the present, the temperature rise in the Arctic is about twice the global average. The British "Daily Mail" quoted European Space Agency scientists as saying that "the Arctic may become a sea without ice in the next 10 years." As one of the remaining untapped virgin land on the planet, the prospects for the exploitation of huge oil and gas and other mineral resources in the Arctic are becoming more realistic. As the Arctic ice melts faster, the Arctic Ocean Channel opens longer each year, potentially shortening the trade routes between Europe and Asia. The Arctic has become a playground for neighboring countries, and the competition for sovereignty is actually the battle for the Arctic. Control of resources and waterways. Resources, Climate, and Channels The Arctic region is rich in energy resources. According to the 2008 Geological Survey, about 30% of the world's untapped natural gas reserves are buried under these glaciers, while crude oil reserves account for 13%. In addition, the Arctic region has rich forestry resources and mineral resources such as nickel, lead, zinc, copper, cobalt, gold, silver and diamond. It is estimated that the Arctic region has a coal reserve of 1 trillion tons, accounting for 1/4 of the global coal reserves. In addition to the above-mentioned mineral resources, Arctic fishery resources are also quite abundant. It is one of the few sea areas on the earth that have not yet been mass-produced commercially. In addition, the Arctic is covered by thick glaciers, and the rich fresh water resources here are self-evident for people with increasingly scarce water resources. Arctic sea ice is an important part of the global climate system, and its changes have an important impact on the region and even the wider climate. The impact of the Arctic on the global climate is now an important topic for scientists in various countries. With the global warming and the gradual shrinking of the Arctic glaciers, the geostrategic value of the Arctic's hidden potential has become increasingly prominent. Once the Arctic glaciers have melted, there will be sea routes connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific in the Arctic. At present, the Arctic channel generally recognized by the academic community consists of two channels: the northwest channel along the coast of Canada and the northeast channel along the Siberian coast. Most of the Northwest Passage is located in the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, starting with the Bering Strait and heading east along the offshore waters of northern Alaska, through the Canadian Arctic Islands, to the Davis Strait. Most of the Northeast Passage is located in the offshore waters of the Arctic Ocean on the northern coast of Russia, starting from the Nordic region and heading east through the Arctic Ocean Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laputev Sea, Eastern Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea. Until the Bering Strait. The current opening time of this channel has reached 3-5 months per year. If the Arctic sea ice continues to melt, the Northeast Passage will be used first compared to the Northwest Passage. Once the Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage are opened, it will become the shortest route connecting Northeast Asia and Western Europe to the east and west coasts of North America. It will not only save about 40% of transportation costs, but also become an alternative to the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, and the Straits of Malacca. In addition, the opening of the Arctic Channel will form a circular Arctic economic circle covering Russia, North America, Europe and East Asia, which will profoundly affect the world economy, trade and geopolitical landscape. "The use of Arctic routes may provide important strategic opportunities for China. Whoever can control the Arctic routes will control the world's new trade routes." Li Zhenfu, an associate professor at the School of Transportation Management at Dalian Maritime University, said in an interview that the environmental changes in the Arctic have a profound impact. China's future maritime transportation. Multi-faceted predictions indicate that the future Arctic will become a navigable sea area. The numerical simulation results of the National Snow and Ice Research Center show that the trend of sea ice reduction in the Arctic will increase in the future. By the middle of this century, the Arctic Ocean may have no ice in summer. The British "Economist" magazine reported that in 2010 only four ships sailed on the northern sea, and in 2011 this figure rose to 34, compared with about 18,000 ships passing through the Suez Canal. According to the Economist report, the airworthiness of the Northeast Passage will increase from 50 days to 90 days between now and 2050. By then, there will be commercial routes here, which will not only affect China's marine transportation industry and international trade, but also drive economic development in the coastal areas of northern China. "For example, if the sea route from Shanghai to Hamburg is taken to the Bering Strait, its distance will be better than that. At present, the traditional route through the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal has been shortened by 6,400 kilometers.†In recent years, the disadvantages of traditional navigation channels such as the Straits of Malacca, the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal have become increasingly prominent. For China, the vast majority of current resources are imported through the narrow Strait of Malacca near Singapore. The impact of the Arctic waterway is obvious, at least to protect Chinese goods from pirates in the Straits of Malacca or the Gulf of Aden. When the eight countries compete for the Arctic to attract more and more countries' attention, this glaciers-filled area is destined to be no longer calm. In the new round of Arctic development, the relevant countries frequently acted to try to seize the commanding heights of Arctic development. In recent years, Russia, the United States, Canada and other countries have successively strengthened their military presence in the Arctic to compete for potential natural resources in the region. Russia, a big Arctic country, has always believed that the Arctic is the sphere of influence of the Arctic countries and opposes turning it into "common property of mankind." At present, Russia has seized the opportunity in this battle. In August of this year, Russia announced that it will establish a number of military ports and border posts along the northern sea route in the Arctic region to deploy Russian naval and border defense warships. Earlier, Russia has announced that it will deploy a multi-armed force in the Arctic in 2015 to protect Russia's interests in the region. In July 2011, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that two Arctic combat brigades would be deployed in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Russia is not the first country to say that it wants to establish a military base in the Arctic. As early as the beginning of 2012, Canada announced its intention to establish its own Arctic base on Cornwallis. Other polar countries also intend to strengthen their military presence in the Arctic. In 2009, Denmark announced the establishment of the Arctic Military Command and the rapid response force capable of operating in the harsh Arctic weather conditions. In 2010, Norway also moved its home base to the polar circle. Earlier, the US "Defense" monthly magazine also disclosed that the Coast Guard, which has been stationed in Alaska, USA, is considering establishing a permanent base in the Arctic. Currently, the United States and Canada have begun regular military exercises in the Arctic. In addition to the military presence of countries, the countries have begun various other actions. On August 14, 2008, after the United States sent an icebreaker to the Arctic to survey the Alaska continental shelf extension, on the 17th of that month, Russia sent a large scientific research team to the Arctic region to study polar climate change and demonstrate the establishment of drift stations in the polar regions. . In 2010, the Harper government of Canada decided to invest in 26 infrastructure and research projects. According to the Canadian Globe and Mail, Canada began to revise history textbooks to include the history of the local Inuit. In August last year, ExxonMobil and the Russian state-owned oil and gas company Rosneft signed an agreement to invest $2.2 billion in oil exploration in the Arctic Kara Sea. In addition to the above eight foreign countries, other countries including South Korea and Japan have also noticed the importance of the Arctic. On September 12 this year, during his visit to Norway, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an agreement on the Korean government's participation in the opening of the Arctic waterway and the promotion of the Arctic policy. He also decided to build a partnership to jointly address climate change and promote Arctic environmental development. China cannot be absent from 2011. The Arctic Council held a meeting of foreign ministers and adopted documents on the criteria for the admission of observers to the Arctic Council and the rights and obligations of observers. The meeting decided to strengthen the status and role of the Arctic Council. Founded in September 1996 in Ottawa, Canada, the Arctic Council is a major intergovernmental communication platform for five countries in the Arctic Ocean region, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and Finland, Iceland, and Sweden in the Arctic Circle. Of note is the document on the observers for the Arctic Council adopted at the meeting. The document imposes quite stringent requirements on the conditions, observer obligations and authority of the Arctic Council to accept observers. If a country wants to become an observer, it must recognize the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Arctic countries in the Arctic. Only the eight Arctic countries can determine the rules of conduct of the countries in the Arctic. Other countries must abide by these norms. The rights of observers are limited to grants to protect the Arctic ecology and scientific investigations. If you want to develop resources in the Arctic, you must obtain the consent of the eight countries of the Arctic Council. Due to various factors, China's participation in Arctic affairs is still very low, and research on the Arctic issue has only begun. The Chinese are rarely seen in the Arctic Forum and related international conferences. At present, China, like several countries such as Japan and South Korea, is actively working hard to obtain the qualifications of observers from the Arctic Council. In April of this year, China applied for a permanent observer of the Arctic Council. As an observer country, although it does not have the right to vote, it does not have the right to speak at the annual meeting, but the observer state has legitimate rights in the Arctic issue. Members of the Arctic Council will discuss Chinese applications in May next year. "(Arctic) has now entered a strategic preparation period for large-scale development and utilization." For the development of the Arctic, Zhang Xia, director of the Strategic Research Office of the China Polar Research Center, interprets this. Founded in 1989, China Polar Research Center is the only scientific research and security center dedicated to polar exploration in China. According to Zhang Xia, there were 18 merchant ships passing through the Northeast Passage last year, and a German icebreaker reached the North Pole last year, where the thickness of sea ice has dropped from 2.7 meters to 0.9 meters. China's "Snow Dragon" scientific research icebreaker also reached the North Pole in the previous year. According to the team members, the sea ice "melted quite badly." No matter how the sea ice melts, for a long time, there will still be sea ice in the waters of the Arctic route, and it will still freeze in winter. "If you want to further utilize the Arctic waterway, strengthen the research and development of anti-ice boats and icebreakers, and improve the shipping capacity of the Arctic Ocean is China's future problem to be solved." Zhang Xia said. In Zhang Xia’s view, China’s current measures include policy and strategy development, infrastructure construction, icebreaker construction and port construction, as well as some energy port construction investment and offshore oil and gas exploration, and “how to develop and apply The technology of the Arctic Ocean Special Environment is one of the main tasks of governments in the strategic preparation period. At present, China is actively preparing for the construction of the second polar scientific expedition icebreaker to enhance the ability of the polar scientific investigation and improve the level of construction of icebreakers. It is reported that the project has entered the tendering stage. Liu Huirong, executive vice president of the School of Law and Politics of Ocean University of China, believes that in the Arctic affairs, China's basic position is to seek a basic right to participate. "The Arctic has close ties with China, including the impact of climate change, the potential benefits of shipping, and future resource development. So China must pay attention to the Arctic affairs. Our concern is to establish a peace with the Arctic countries in a peaceful manner. Good negotiation mechanism," said Liu Huirong.
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