The Arctic is a vast region, difficult to access, difficult to work in, but packed with resources. Russia knows this. Until recently, the United States apparently knew it but decided to do nothing about it, even though the slight warming in the region is making it more accessible, if you have the right equipment - icebreaker ships.
Now we see that the One Big Beautiful (OBBB) Act is helping in that regard: The United States Coast Guard will be receiving some new icebreakers to keep any new Arctic shipping lanes open.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, includes a historic investment in US Arctic security, totaling nearly $9 billion for icebreakers that may put America back in charge of the frozen frontier.
The legislation delivers $4.3 billion for heavy Polar security cutters, $3.5 billion for medium Arctic security cutters, and an additional $816 million for lighter ice-capable vessels. It’s the largest Arctic maritime investment in US history, and it comes at a moment of escalating geopolitical stakes in the Far North.
Back in charge, at least, of our portion of the Arctic. A quick look at a map is instructive; find a map of the world looking down from over the North Pole, and it quickly becomes apparent that Russia controls nearly half of the Arctic Ocean coastline, with the United States and Canada following in a strong second, followed by Denmark (Greenland). There are three major points of maritime entry into the Arctic, those being the Bering Strait, the Greenland Sea, and the Barents Sea. Russia and the USA are (in some locations literally) looking at each other over the Bering Strait. The Barents is a Russian lake.
It's a touchy situation, and there's a good argument to be made for the United States to commit to free navigation in the Arctic. There are also national security issues, as Congressman Nick Begich III (R-AK) points out:
Congressman Nick Begich is on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee in the House.
“Arctic security is a crucial component of America’s national defense and border security portfolio, but we have deferred that investment for too long. This historic investment strengthens our response capacity, supports ongoing search and rescue missions, and enhances our ability to interdict foreign operators engaged in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) commercial fishing,” Begich said.
‘Upon learning about chronic Coast Guard budget shortfalls as a member of the Coast Guard subcommittee and after meeting with senior Coast Guard leadership in Kodiak, Washington DC, and Tokyo, it was clear: We needed to make a significant Coast Guard investment and quickly. The OBBBA will make that happen,” Begich said.
Alaska has a key role to play in all this. In 1935, General Billy Mitchell observed that Alaska is the most strategic real estate on the planet, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Arctic.
See Also: What's in the OBBB for Alaskan Energy?
Friends No More? Mary Peltola Jabs Lisa Murkowski Over Vote for OBBB
The Arctic will become a key region, in the coming decades, more than ever. Advances in technology as well a the post-Ice-Age warming in the area are making it more accessible. There are resources, but more importantly, there could be vital new shipping lanes opening up. There are, of course, already American and Russian navy assets in the area, under the ice. A look at that same map also reveals the real dangers of a submarine armed with ballistic or cruise missiles could pose from that region.
National defense, of course, is one role that the federal government is constitutionally required to handle.
The next few decades are likely to see some major reshuffling of the global order. If you want to see where a lot of that conflict, be it cold or hot, will be decided, look north.
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