... military perspectives can be added to the economic dimensions. Undoubtedly, Moscow seeks to prevent objectionable uses of the NSR and the Russian Arctic zone by taking anti-access and area denial measures. Key for the Russian leadership is retaining, under ... ... the national defense potential. The implication is that the Northern Fleet must be capable of assisting the Baltic Fleet on NATO’s eastern flank, while also interacting with the Pacific Fleet in case any threat emanates from the Asia-Pacific.
Direct ...
... “non-military” activity in the Arctic would help, among other things, to promote the Northern Sea Route as a choice for commercial shipping (by improving the supporting services) and would facilitate negotiations with potential partners that need the NSR for their own purposes (first of all, China).
Return of the “Big Game”
Several publications in the West
have already referred
to the interaction between Russia and NATO in the Arctic as the “Big Game,” which brings up obvious associations with the historical rivalry between Russia and Great Britain in South and Central Asia in the 19th to early 20th centuries. This term probably fits the current conditions but ...
