The Colder War

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For most, the race for unconquered territory is a thing of the past. The age of explorers is over, the planting of flags something relegated to outer space.

Then there’s the Arctic, the vast polar region to which few gave second thought until global warming began melting its icy barriers.

As the frost thaws five powers — the U.S., Canada, Norway, Denmark and Russia — have begun jockeying for advantage up north, focusing on the vast oil and gas riches believed to lie beneath the thinning ice.

In recent months, Russia has signaled that the competition could go military.

On June 19, during a visit to the northern port city of Arkhangelsk, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov (formerly a defense minister) said, “Our neighbors are engaged in researching technologies to build ice-class vessels and are investing efforts in building drilling platforms for the Arctic. This leaves no doubt that in the coming years this region will become a place where the global interest of many states will clash.”

Ivanov was not speaking off-the-cuff. In early May, President Dmitry Medvedev approved…

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