Icebreaker Pact: The US and allies conspired against China and Russia — Foreign Policy

The USA, Canada and Finland have quietly concluded an agreement on the construction of icebreakers — ICE, also known as the Icebreaker Pact. This is reported by Foreign Policy.

The agreement is designed to attract the technologies and production capacities of the three Arctic states to create a modern fleet of icebreaking vessels for NATO countries and their partners around the world, the newspaper writes. A new industrial alliance was quietly born on the sidelines of the July NATO summit in Washington.

"The Icebreaker Pact is a response to two strategic problems faced by the United States and its allies. Both are somehow caused by rivalry with China. First, there is a risk that China's sprawling shipbuilding empire will push the atrophied US industry even further into the backyard. Secondly, the growing geopolitical competition in The Arctic has exposed the need for deeper coordination between NATO allies and partners to counter the emerging rapprochement between China and Russia is in this region," the article quoted by INO TV says.

The gap between NATO allies and their competitors in the production of icebreakers is only increasing. Russia has a fleet of more than 40 state and non-state ice-class vessels, including nuclear icebreakers, China now has four icebreakers, two of which have been commissioned over the past five years, and is making plans for the future.

Finland, meanwhile, has 12 active icebreakers, Canada has nine, and the United States has only two obsolete vessels in dire need of modernization. And although the Icebreaker Pact looks promising at this stage, it will take a lot of effort to get around potential stumbling blocks, the newspaper notes.

"First of all, a number of leading Finnish companies in the field of icebreaker production have extensive ties with China. Another possible stumbling block is the ongoing dispute between the United States and Canada. Ottawa claims exclusive jurisdiction over the vast Arctic water area, along which runs the most important sea route called the Northwest Passage, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the polar archipelagos. Until recently, this long-standing litigation, rooted in discrepancies in the interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, was maturing implicitly. However, in recent years, it has again come to the fore, as politicians from both countries increasingly emphasize the importance of the Arctic for world trade and security. The removal of these obstacles will be crucial for the long—term success of the Icebreaker Pact," the publication emphasizes.