The U.S. and her allies must step up their defense spending in order to successfully counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in the Arctic, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., warned in an op-ed Tuesday for the Wall Street Journal.
Putin is “an anti-American autocrat … hostile to our interests, dismissive of our values,” who seeks to “challenge the international order” by building “an aggressive, militarily capable … new form of Russian empire,” wrote McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Russia’s incursion into the Ukraine clearly shows its “neo-imperial ambitions,” McCain wrote, and Russia’s aggressive behavior has led neighboring countries to conclude it wants a return to the Cold War. The “undeclared, grinding war on Ukraine” is a test both of its military might and the world’s response.
Russia is patrolling the coastlines of neighboring countries while aggressively flexing its military muscle along their borders. It also seeks to control the Arctic waterways for commercial and intelligence activities, similar to China’s activity in the South China Sea, McCain wrote. Given the Arctic’s vast natural resources, including oil and gas, this should concern the international community, McCain argued.
The U.S. response to both cases, he wrote, has been alarmingly feeble. “Freedom of the seas is essential to the modern way of life. Any action by Russia that impedes movement in the Arctic may ultimately threaten the peace of the Atlantic and the intercontinental ties between the U.S. and our closest allies and trading partners in Europe.”
When it comes to navigating the Arctic seas, the U.S. is woefully behind: while Russia operates 27 icebreakers, the U.S. only has two, and just one is operational, McCain points out. The heavy icebreaker Polar Star is in drydock undergoing planned repairs ahead of a deployment. The icebreaker Healy is operating in the Arctic. President Obama on Tuesday proposed speeding acquisition of replacement icebreakers.
“We’re not even in the same league as Russia right now. We’re not playing in this game at all,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft told Newsweek in July.
While the U.S. and its allies have tried to counter Russia’s growing threat, they have not been successful in deterring it, McCain argued. He wrote that the U.S. should end arbitrary defense spending caps and that European and NATO partners should step up defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product.
“The good news is that some European countries are responding to the new strategic realities in Europe,” wrote McCain, who cites Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as examples.
Putin wants to instigate a “new ‘great game’ in the Arctic,” and rather than focusing on climate change, President Obama should use the U.S.’ two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council to increase cooperation with our Arctic allies. Putin’s actions “require the trans-Atlantic community to return to a mission that too many assumed was no longer necessary: deterrence. We must project strength to prevent conflict,” McCain writes.
