We cannot allow Russia and China to dominate the Arctic with a military buildup

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In April, the Russian Navy completed testing a powerful new warship : a "combat icebreaker." Armed with a 76mm cannon and with room for eight anti-ship cruise missiles, the Ivan Papanin is the world’s first surface warship purpose-built to fight in the frozen waters of the Arctic.

Russia knows that the Northern Hemisphere is the world’s next great frontier . Lucrative sea lanes are opening for commercial shipping, and new technologies have unlocked access to the abundant untapped mineral and energy resources lying under the ice. In fact, some estimate that the Arctic holds as much as 22% of the world’s untapped reserves of fossil fuels. Russia, recognizing this, has launched a major military buildup in the Arcti