This is Ronald O'Rourke's Statement on 'Strategic Competition in the Arctic'
before the House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security.
Download CRS_Testimony_ Stratefic_Comp_Arctic_18July2023
Click on the graphics to enlarge them. I won't paste the entire document. I will end this right after the graphics.
Introduction
Chairman Giménez, Ranking Member Thanedar, distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss strategic competition in the Arctic.
As part of my work as the CRS specialist for naval affairs, I am the head of the CRS Arctic team, them Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program.
The Arctic and PSC reports were initiated in 2010 and 2008, respectively, and have been updated periodically since then, most recently on July 5 and July 10, 2023, respectively. My other periodically updated CRS reports include the CRS report on the defense coordinator of the CRS overview report on the Arctic, strategic competition in the South and East China Seas, which was initiated in 2012 and the author of the CRS report on the Coast The Arctic and PSC reports were initiated in 2010 and implications of great power competition, which was initiated in 2014,
As requested by the subcommittee, my statement focuses primarily on the Coast Guard, and particularly on the PSC program. Portions of this statement are adapted from the PSC and Arctic overview reports.
Arctic Geopolitical Environment
The CRS Arctic overview report’s discussion of the Arctic geopolitical environment covers the evolution of the Arctic geopolitical environment since the end of the Cold War, the emergence of great power competition (i.e., strategic competition) in the Arctic, the impact on the Arctic of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Russian and Chinese activities in the Arctic, and military (including U.S. Coast Guard) operations in the Arctic. The discussion in that report provides a geopolitical context for the material presented below, which focuses on Coast Guard polar icebreakers, Arctic search and rescue (SAR), and a U.S. Arctic strategic seaport.Coast Guard Polar Icebreakers
Multiple Polar Missions (Not Just Icebreaking)|Within the U.S. government, the Coast Guard is the U.S. agency responsible for polar icebreaking. The Coast Guard’s polar icebreakers, however, do not simply break ice—they are multi-mission cutters that conduct a variety of operations in polar waters. U.S. polar ice operations conducted in large part by the Coast Guard’s polar icebreakers support 9 of the Coast Guard’s 11 statutory missions. The roles of U.S polar icebreakers can be summarized as follows:
conducting and supporting scientific research in the Arctic and Antarctic;
defending U.S. sovereignty in the Arctic by helping to maintain a U.S. presence in U.S. territorial waters in the region;
defending other U.S. interests in polar regions, including economic interests in waters that are within the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) north of Alaska;
monitoring sea traffic in the Arctic, including ships bound for the United States; and
conducting other typical Coast Guard missions (such as search and rescue, law enforcement, and protection of marine resources) in Arctic waters, including U.S. territorial water north of Alaska.
Conclusion
Chairman Giménez, Ranking Member Thanedar, thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today, and I will be pleased to respond to any questions the subcommittee may have.
Cutting to the chase...
Enjoy!
"The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people." - Dian Fossey
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