Facing Up to China's Military Interests in the Arctic by Anne-Marie Brady
Republished and edited for OE Watch in collaboration with the Jamestown Foundation, The China Brief, Vol: 19, Issue: 21, dated 10 December 2019. For the full article, see: https://jamestown.org/program/facing-up-to-chinas-military-interests-in-the-arctic/
OE Watch Commentary: China's military ambitions in the Arctic and its growing strategic partnership with Russia have rung alarm bells in many governments. Chinese submarine-based ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) operating in the Arctic could restore China's nuclear deterrence capability. China currently operates six nuclear-powered attack submarines, four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, and 50 diesel attack submarines, with more under construction. If Chinese nuclear-armed submarines were able to access the Arctic basin undetected, this would be a game-changer for the United States, the NATO states and their partners, and the w...