NEW TROOP FORMATIONS

Russian Arctic forces boost to secure vast mineral reserves

Author: Dmitry Solovyov
Posted: Saturday , 28 Mar 2009

MOSCOW (Reuters) -

Russia plans to boost its military presence in the Arctic to ensure security in the vast mineral-rich region, the Kremlin said in a strategy document published this week.

Russia, whose economy depends on exports of oil, gas and metals, has previously staked its claim to part of the Arctic shelf which experts say has huge mineral reserves.

The document said Moscow would create new troop formations in the Arctic zone "capable of ensuring military security in different military and political situations."

It did not specify the number of troops to be deployed.

The paper, outlining Russian Arctic policy until 2020, was signed by President Dmitry Medvedev on September 18 last year but published only this week by the country's Security Council.

"Russia's state policy in the Arctic in the medium term perspective is to preserve her role as a leading Arctic power," said the document, posted on the Security Council's website www.scrf.gov.ru.

Russia, the world's biggest country, is in a race with NATO members Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States to control reserves of oil, gas and precious metals that could become more accessible if the Arctic ice cap shrinks because of climate change.

Russia says a swath of the Arctic seabed should belong to it because it is really an extension of the Siberian continental shelf. Moscow has filed a claim to the United Nation's body dealing with such issues.

The Security Council issued a separate statement on Friday saying Russia did not plan to militarise the Arctic and Moscow wanted simply to make its borders more secure.

The strategy paper said Russia planned to boost border guard numbers "to bring them in line with the character of threats and challenges to the Russian Federation in the Arctic" and increase control of shipping routes in the region.

It gave no details of the type of threat and Security Council officials could not be reached for comment.

Russia has said it is nervous about what it says is the militarisation of the Arctic.

Russian officials say the Arctic seabed has between 9 and 10 billion tonnes of fuel equivalent, about the same as Russia's total known current oil reserves.

The policy document said Russia wanted in the period 2016 to 2020 to ensure "the transformation of the Arctic zone into the main strategic resource base of the Russian Federation."

(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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I t's in it self both a statment on the evolution of the impact of climat change as well as some of the confrontation lying ahead . Not long ago Canadian and Russian air forces started taking pictures of each other in close encounter bravado as in the good old days , so much so that the PM officialy complained about it recently . ( The guys in the Russian plane forgot to shave before the picture ! and he figured they were on our turf... of course . )

I know some will see it as a investment opportunity that the famous nothwestern passage will soon be open to navigation and the riches of the Artic made available to us all humm? . Well to some of us at least, it flabergasts me how some people will wonder at the value of the gun aiming at them .

I know what can we do about it ? We might as well prosper from it is'nt it ? Maybe so but we should also look the other way for the tsunami that might come from same ,but from a different direction .

The ongoing militarisation of the Artic is not a good thing , especialy from a bunch of super power equipped with mean machines we poor so much money into . Hey Canadians ! that's our backdoor if you have something to say about it don't wait for some politician with a personal agenda to tell you what you should think. Think ahead !