On Thursday, July 11, the United States, Canada, and Finland jointly announced their cooperation in building polar icebreakers. This move aims to strengthen the shipbuilding and industrial capabilities of allied countries and to counter the increasing activities of China and Russia in this resource-rich region.
The White House issued a statement on Thursday, stating that the Biden administration, along with Finland and Canada, announced a new Arctic partnership agreement called the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE).
According to the statement, this trilateral arrangement aims to collaborate with US allies, labor, and industry to produce polar icebreakers and develop other capabilities. This partnership aims to enhance the shipbuilding and industrial capabilities of the countries involved and establish closer security and economic ties through information exchange and shared workforce development.
The announcement of this collaboration comes as NATO member countries gather in Washington D.C. for the NATO 75th-anniversary summit.
By the end of this year, the US, Canada, and Finland will outline how to implement this arrangement through a joint memorandum of understanding. The memorandum will also include a mechanism to increase the participation of more allies and partners.
The statement mentioned that the US Coast Guard is constructing new heavy icebreakers under the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program. These vessels will serve as national assets to ensure access to polar regions and carry out critical Coast Guard missions, including defense readiness, marine environmental protection, port, waterway, and coastal security, as well as search and rescue operations.
A senior US official told the media that the ICE agreement aims to build a large-scale world-class fleet of polar icebreakers to project power into the Arctic region, calling it a “strategic imperative.”
The official added that this agreement sends a message to China and Russia.
“Without this arrangement, our adversaries could potentially have an advantage in a field of significant geopolitical importance, which could make them the preferred suppliers to nations looking to purchase polar icebreakers,” the official said.
The White House stated that the ICE agreement invites allies and partners to purchase icebreakers from shipyards in the US, Canada, and Finland that have experience in building these vessels. Through diplomatic cooperation, focusing on shipyards specialized in icebreaker construction can achieve the necessary scale and reduce costs for allies and partners needing access to the polar regions.
China and Russia, the main geopolitical rivals of the US, have spent years expanding their presence in the Arctic region. Russia has dozens of icebreakers, and China has multiple medium icebreakers while seeking to acquire more, including a heavy icebreaker.
The announcement of the ICE agreement comes as China pursues new shipping routes in the Arctic. Western countries are concerned that China may gain better surveillance capabilities from its Arctic activities.
In January 2018, China released its first Arctic strategy promoting the “Polar Silk Road” and claimed itself as a “near-Arctic country,” sparking controversy.
The following year (2019), the Pentagon issued a report sounding alarms about China’s expansion in the Arctic region. The report stated that China’s Arctic strategy signals Beijing’s desires to access Arctic natural resources, intervene in Arctic sea lines of communication (SLOC), and enhance its presence in Arctic affairs.
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo once stated the importance of closely monitoring China’s activities in the Arctic during his term, saying, “We need, and we will remember what we’ve learned from other countries. China’s aggressive behavior elsewhere should inform how it would treat the Arctic and what we should do.”