DAVID HUNT: Playing catch-up in the Arctic

OPINION:

The U.S. Government Accountability Office says that the Obama administration is forcing our military to measure ice levels in the resources-rich Arctic. The president’s thinking, according to reports, is that shrinking ice could force us to institute a “military and homeland security presence” in the region.

I’m all for having a strong military presence in the Arctic. In fact, the need for one has already been demonstrated and doesn’t require analysis of ice levels to understand why.

The Arctic is an incredibly important region geopolitically that is home to critical natural resources, including about 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas, as well as vital trade routes.

As the United States has dithered in the Arctic, Russia has deployed an array of fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missile systems, and state-of-the-art radar systems to islands off the Russian coast in the Arctic. Russia’s Northern Fleet will also conduct a large exercise focused on the defense of Russia’s economic assets in the Arctic.

Both are examples of Russia’s latest militarization and construction blitz. After sending in about 38,000 troops with new radar and guidance system capabilities, nuclear-powered submarines, and various warships and icebreakers, Russia is now constructing an assortment of Arctic search-and-rescue stations, deepwater ports, airfields and air-defense radar stations that will allow other merchant, survey and military vessels to continuously ply through the Arctic ice securely.

Russia has also increased its military spending by a third, even though it’s in the middle of an economic downturn. Furthermore, while Western sanctions have made drilling in the Russian Arctic more difficult, seismic work continues as planned. The country also has six nuclear-powered icebreakers and at least a dozen other diesel icebreakers in service, with more on the way.

These moves suggest that Russia wants to be the dominant leader in the Arctic — and they might be soon be if we don’t act fast.

While the recent U.S. accession to chairmanship of the Arctic Council presents an opportunity for leadership, we continue to be anchored by constraining policies and misplaced priorities that have greatly hampered our influence in the Arctic. Access to natural resources in the U.S. Arctic offshore, which contains an estimated 23.6 billion barrels of oil and 104 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, has been severely curtailed through restricted leasing opportunities and increasing federal regulatory obstacles and delays. In addition, we have just two heavy diesel icebreakers and one medium icebreaker, only one of which is currently functional. In addition to more investments, as noted by the National Petroleum Council in a recent report requested by the U.S. energy secretary, we’ll certainly also need far better policies, and soon, if we’re going to realize the economic and national security benefits that our resources in this region can provide.

From a geopolitical perspective, the government would be wise to promote Arctic energy production as a strategic neutralization tactic against the Russians. Oil revenue finances more than half of Russia’s coffers, and production and exports have dropped ever since oil prices fell about a year ago. In order to emerge from its recession and sustain its military growth, Russia will need to find and profitably sell more oil in a hurry. America can help counteract this dynamic by maintaining and increasing its record-setting energy production, which will require development of our own Arctic offshore energy resources. Recent actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries highlight how domestic production can weaken the interests of our adversaries around the world.

• David Hunt is a retired U.S. Army colonel and a former security adviser to the FBI. He served as counterterrorism coordinator for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul.