Chinese Icebreakers Smash Into the War for the Arctic

In a historic first, China had three icebreaker vessels active in the Arctic region as of last week, according to open-source ship tracking data.

• China’s Xue Long 2 icebreaker crossed the Arctic Ocean throughout July and most of August and arrived at Murmansk in northwestern Russia on August 28. It left Murmansk on August 30 to head further north. This is the world’s only known icebreaker that can smash polar ice at both bow and stern.
• The state-of-the-art Ji Di was navigating north of the Chukchi Sea as of August 28, after having left China on August 6.
• The Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di icebreaker is currently conducting research some 200 nautical miles from Utqiagvik in the Beaufort Sea.

China refers to itself as a “near-Arctic country” and insists it is a key stakeholder in the region’s affairs, even though China’s territory is some 900 miles from the Arctic Circle.

The U.S. flounders: Meanwhile, America’s uscgc Healy icebreaker was forced to abort a trip to the Arctic on July 25 after a fire broke out on the vessel. The blaze damaged one of its two propulsion motors and required it to return to Seattle.

Both the Healy and America’s only other icebreaker, the Polar Star, are nearing the end of their operational lives.

New battleground: Historically, the frigid Arctic has been relatively free of the geopolitical struggles among world powers that have beset most other regions. In recent decades, due to thawing ice and improving technology, this has begun to change.

• The region is estimated to hold 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas, 13 percent of its oil, and vast caches of minerals.
• Shipping lanes through the region could also be far more efficient than some current routes.

The region has become increasingly important to nations such as Russia, China, Canada and the United States. Modern trends show that Russia and China are more determined to control this region than America and its allies—a development that is illuminated by Bible prophecy.

Learn more: Read “The Battle for the Arctic.”