Why Are Russia and China Militarizing the Arctic? July 29, 2025 By: David Kirichenko

Why Are Russia and China Militarizing the Arctic?

July 29, 2025

By: David Kirichenko

Russia is rapidly militarizing the Arctic, forging closer ties with China, and exploiting NATO weaknesses. The Arctic could be a future site of international competition.

As American attention over Russia’s war in Ukraine wanes, Vladimir Putin is already preparing Russia for future wars against NATO. Talk as of late has been on Russia potentially challenging NATO’s Eastern flank, but Moscow has been actively focusing on rearming and setting the stage for a future war in the Arctic. 

Russia now possesses more than three dozen icebreakers, including several nuclear-powered vessels, which gives it unmatched mobility in the Arctic. The US only has two, but Canada and Denmark have 25 combined. It has upgraded Arctic bases, stationed advanced missile systems across its northern coastline, and resumed regular bomber flights near Alaska. 

Meanwhile, joint Russian-Chinese patrols and military drills in the region are becoming routine, signaling a growing axis of Arctic cooperation that NATO cannot afford to ignore. Beijing is deeply interested in the resources the Arctic has to offer, as it considers itself a “near-Arctic” state. 

Why Are So Many Countries Interested in the Arctic?

Melting ice is making access to rare earth minerals, energy reserves, and new shipping routes easier, opportunities China is eager to tap into as it expands its global reach.

At the same time, NATO’s Arctic capabilities remain limited. The US has only a handful of aging icebreakers, and many surveillance and missile defense systems in the region are outdated. Canada has just one deepwater port above the Arctic Circle. The military imbalance is growing at a time when melting sea ice is opening up new shipping lanes, sparking resource claims, and potentially creating military flashpoints.

As a result, the US has been sounding the alarm over growing military ties between Russia and China in the Arctic. Both countries have stepped up joint patrols and exercises near Alaska.

A top Pentagon official previously warned that China is using research and economic projects to expand its footprint. At the same time, Russia continues to pour resources into the region despite its ongoing war in Ukraine.

In July 2024, NORAD intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska in the first known joint flight by the two countries in that region. The bombers stayed in international airspace but entered the US Air Defense Identification Zone, prompting US and Canadian fighter jets to respond. Kyiv’s Operation Spiderweb may have also indirectly benefited Washington by targeting Russian bombers that were also used to patrol near Alaska.