China sailing to the Arctic Sea

China's Next Nine Dotted Line

BY WENDY LAURSEN

Will we see China’s South China Sea style of diplomacy extended to the Arctic be next?  China is about to become the second nation, after Russia, to publish a guide to Arctic sailing through the Northern Sea Route.

The guide will be published in July and offer "comprehensive, practical and authoritative" information for Chinese cargo ships wanting to sail through the Northern Sea Route, or Northeast Passage, to Europe. The guide is expected to provide nautical chart, sailing methods, ice-breaking providers, Arctic geography and climate and laws and regulations of countries along the route.

The new route can save Chinese cargo ships 5,186 kilometers and nine days from the traditional voyage to Europe, which goes through the Malacca Straits and the Suez Canal.

Last year, 46 commercial ships that transited the Northern Sea Route. Yongsheng of China Ocean Shipping was China's first. "More than 90 percent of China's international trade is carried out by sea, so once the route is completely open, it will significantly facilitate the cargo shipping and trade sectors in China," says Wang Hexun, director of the Donghai Navigation Safety Administration.

China has been an ad hoc observer on the Arctic Council since 2007 but was only accepted as a permanent observer in 2013. Earlier attempts failed due to concerns over China’s intentions, says Christian Le Miére and Jeffrey Mazo in their book Arctic Opening Insecurity and Opportunity. “Beijing’s relations with Arctic states have not always been ideal: the strategic partnership with and simultaneous mistrust of and by Russia, and the growing strategic competition with the US, are well known.

“However, Norway and China have also had their points of discord. In 2010, when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded (by a committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament) to the detained Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo, Beijing reacted angrily. Restrictions were placed on Norwegian salmon imports, Norway was omitted from a list of 45 countries whose citizens could enjoy 72-hour visa-free access to Beijing, and Former Norwegian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik was denied a visa in 2012.”

Tensions are present in other Arctic nations too. Greenland’s 2013 election saw the winning Siumut Party campaigning against legislation that would have allowed a large-scale influx of Chinese workers into the mining industry there. 

Iceland rejected a Chinese proposal for the purchase of land to develop an ecotourism center in a remote corner of the country. The plan was viewed with great suspicion, writes Miére and Mazo. The minister that rejected the plan said: “One has to look at this from a geopolitical perspective and ask about motivations.”

It will be interesting to see how China proceeds in the Arctic. Are we seeing another nine dotted line being lightly penciled in already?