Russia and China have announced they will cooperate to carry out joint patrols in the Arctic Sea, marking the first time the Chinese have entered the area.

The Chinese Ministry of Defense released a statement this week, stating the joint venture will expand the Chinese Coast Guard’s operational range significantly, and “bolstered” its international and regional maritime governance.

“On September 21, Chinese and Russian coast guard vessels began joint patrols in the North Pacific. The coast guards conducted law enforcement inspections on fishing vessels operating in the region, in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/215 and the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean,” the ministry said.

During the Chinese National Day holidays, a formation of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels arrived in the Arctic Ocean for joint patrols with the Russian coast guard, marking the first time CCG vessels have entered the Arctic Ocean.#Arctic pic.twitter.com/tYqdrq2doB

— China Bugle (@ChinaBugle) October 3, 2024

It further states the operation was aimed at “maintaining order in high-seas fisheries” and joint exercises were conducted in search and rescue, locating illegal vessels, and damage control.

A China Coast Guard (CCG) fleet formation on Tuesday entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time for a joint patrol with their Russian counterparts. https://t.co/8JDr4y5thQ pic.twitter.com/h9xcSvuI3k

— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) October 2, 2024

China is currently mapping out alternative sea routes, and has used the new route through the Arctic Sea as an alternative trade route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The routes are largely being used by Russia to deliver oil to China, while avoiding sanctions from Western nations, according to Reuters.

China & Russia plot course for Arctic cooperation & shipping routes to counter West. Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin stress ‘strategic choices’ as they pledge deeper economic partnerships, including the Northern Sea Route. #Velsighttps://t.co/epyMaHDGPi pic.twitter.com/yiXbZ0rTZz

— Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) August 22, 2024

China says its coast guard, along with Russia’s, conducted first ever patrol in the Arctic Sea. The maritime patrol follows a series of naval and air exercises in the Pacific starting in September. In recent years, China has grown increasingly active in the Arctic. pic.twitter.com/Pjvfv7p4y9

— TaiwanPlus News (@taiwanplusnews) October 2, 2024

Mercy Kuo, executive vice president of Pamir Consulting, a global risk intelligence firm in Washington, D.C., told the Diplomat in December 2023, that China’s ambitions are pushing it to make its presence known in one of the world’s most untapped places.

“Beijing under Xi Jinping has deliberately re-envisioned China not only as an Arctic stakeholder, but a “near-Arctic” power. The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] framed China’s entry into the region as mutually beneficial to the littoral Arctic states, highlighting potential commercial endeavors and (ostensibly dual-use) scientific research. Officials codified this concept in 2018 through the “Ice” or “Polar Silk Road” (PSR) – part of its globe-spanning Belt and Road Initiative,” Kuo said.

Kuo added the Chinese have put more than $90 billion into the initiative, and both nations have mutually agreed to collaborate on harnessing Arctic energy and transport.

According to an op-ed published by Politico and written by Liselotte Odgaard, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, the friendship between Russia and China is a “no-limits” partnership, allowing China to test its Arctic capabilities, while Russia’s nuclear threats towards the U.S. and its NATO allies are bolstered and also keep eyes turned away from the threat in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Just how important the Arctic is to Russia in terms of maintaining its threatening nuclear posture toward the U.S. cannot be overstated. In a nuclear exchange, Moscow would likely fire long-range ballistic missiles – from ballistic missile submarine bases near the Kola Peninsula – through the poorly surveyed airspace over Greenland. And hindered by low visibility in the Arctic, U.S. forces would be ill-prepared to detect and counter the strike,” Odgaard said.

As the China-Russia axis aligns against the US and its allies, the power struggle has expanded to a previously ice-locked frontier: the Arctic.

Liselotte Odgaard examines the Arctic capabilities that have given China and Russia an edge in the region: https://t.co/gcGMyVFw9z pic.twitter.com/2sMVzmX0xJ

— Hudson Institute (@HudsonInstitute) October 3, 2024

A report from Bloomberg notes the U.S. and its NATO allies are now forming a security group to counter China and Russia. The security group was formed because the Arctic Council has Russia as a member, and there are no forums that allow NATO allies to discuss security concerns without the involvement of Russia, according to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

Canada is currently forming an alliance with Nordic nations, as they are now all members of NATO.

“For a long time Canada, we thought we were protected by our geography. But now we need to reckon that we are a country facing Russia and because of climate change, more countries are interested in the Arctic, including China … We need to be addressing this new reality,” Joly told Bloomberg.