USA takes on Arctic interests
As one of his last moves as U.S. president, George W. Bush yesterday issued a directive on U.S. policy in Arctic oil and gas affairs.
The directive contradicts Russia’s claim to a bigger chunk of the Arctic and its energy supplies, and says the United States wants to work with all countries that have territory in the region to settle disputes over boundaries, Reuters reports.
The directive highlights the need to coordinate efforts with the other four states bordering the Arctic.
“Our approach is going to be dealing with our fellow Arctic nations in finding ways to access and develop, when it comes to energy specifically, that takes into account conservation and the environment,” Benjamin Chang, deputy spokesman for the National Security Council, told the news agency.
The directive reads that “the United States has broad and fundamental national security interests in the Arctic region and is prepared to operate either independently or in conjunction with other states to safeguard these interests”.
“Human activity in the Arctic region is increasing and is projected to increase further in coming years. This requires the United States to assert a more active and influential national presence to protect its Arctic interests and to project sea power throughout the region”, the document continues.
Touching on the energy potentials of the Arctic, the document reads that “energy development in the Arctic region will play an important role in meeting growing global energy demand as the area is thought to contain a substantial portion of the world’s undiscovered energy resources. The United States seeks to ensure that energy development throughout the Arctic occurs in an environmentally sound manner, taking into account the interests of indigenous and local communities, as well as open and transparent market principles”.
The document also several places highlights the importance of the Arctic Council as a body for international action on Arctic issues.
The U.S. document on the Arctic comes less than two months after the EU published its Arctic Communication, a paper which is to form the basis for the union’s new Arctic Policy. Also Norway has a adopted a High North strategy.
