President Barack Obama wants to speed up the acquisition and building of new Coast Guard icebreakers to help protect U.S. interests in the fierce global competition for shipping, tourism, mineral exploration and fishing in the Arctic sea.
According to
The New York Times, Obama will announce a plan Tuesday, his second of a three-day visit to Alaska aimed to highlight climate changes and ways to deal with it.
The icebreakers' plan addresses one of the most dramatic changes in the Arctic — the retreat of Arctic sea ice and the difficulties it poses to shipping, tourism, exploration and fishing, the Times notes.
"Arctic ecosystems are among the most pristine and understudied in the world, meaning increased commercial activity comes with significant risks to the environment," the White House said in advance of the president's announcement in Seward, the Times reports.
"The growth of human activity in the Arctic region will require highly engaged stewardship to maintain the open seas necessary for global commerce and scientific research, allow for search and rescue activities, and provide for regional peace and stability."
Currently, the Coast Guard has two heavy icebreakers, down from seven during World War II, the Times reports, while Russia has 41 with plans for 11 more, and China has one and is building another.
But the plan also comes as concerns grow over Russia's activities in the Arctic and its Aug. 5 submission to the United Nations for 463,000 square miles of the Arctic sea shelf, extending more than 350 nautical miles from the country's shore,
Fox News reports.
The Arctic is believed to hold up to 25 percent of the world's untapped oil and gas supplies, and the U.S., Russia, and Canada are among the nations trying to assert their jurisdiction over the region, Fox News notes.
In his proposal, Obama is proposing speeding up by two years the acquisition of a replacement icebreaker that had been planned for 2022, and that planning start on the construction of new ones — including asking Congress to provide funding, the Times reports.
Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska, who was with Obama on Monday, says he's concerned the U.S. military is drawing down in his state just as Russia is expanding.
"It's the biggest buildup of the Russian military since the Cold War," Walker said, the Times reports. "They're reopening 10 bases and building four more, and they're all in the Arctic, so here we are in the middle of the pond, feeling a little bit uncomfortable."
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