Sec. 1206. Arctic deep draft port
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Congress finds the following: The strategic importance of the Arctic continues to increase as the United States and other countries recognize the economic and military significance of the sea lanes and choke points within the region and understand the potential for power projection from the Arctic into multiple regions. On January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis released the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America in which the Secretary outlined the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition by countries such as China and Russia.
Russia and China have conducted military exercises together in the Arctic, have agreed to connect the Northern Sea Route, claimed by Russia, with the Maritime Silk Road of China, and are working together in developing natural gas resources in the Arctic. The Government of the Russian Federation has prioritized the development of Arctic capabilities and has made significant investments in military infrastructure in the Arctic, including the creation of a new Arctic Command and the construction or refurbishment of 16 deepwater ports and 14 airfields in the region.
The Government of the People’s Republic of China— released, in January 2018, its new Arctic Strategy, the Polar Silk Road, in which it declares itself as a near-Arctic state ; and has publicly stated that it seeks to expand its Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic region, including current investment in the natural gas fields in the Yamal Peninsula in Russia, rare-earth element mines in Greenland, and the real estate, alternative energy, and fisheries in Iceland. The significance of the Arctic continues to grow as countries around the globe begin to understand the magnitude of the natural resources in the Arctic, including, at a minimum, oil, natural gas, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and abundant fisheries.
The Bering Strait is experiencing significant increases in international traffic from vessels transiting the Northern Sea Route, increases that are projected to continue if decreases in sea ice coverage continue. Increases in human, maritime, and resource development activity in the Arctic region create additional mission requirements for Federal agencies, given— the strategic focus of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Arctic; overlapping territorial claims; and the potential for maritime accidents, oil spills, and illegal fishing near the exclusive economic zone of the United States.
The increasing role of the United States in the Arctic has been highlighted in each of the last 4 National Defense Authorization Acts. The United States Coast Guard Arctic Strategic Outlook released in April 2019 states that [d]emonstrating commitment to operational presence, Canada, Denmark, and Norway have made strategic investments in ice-capable patrol ships charged with national or homeland security missions. [The United States] is the only country with an Arctic presence that has not made similar investments in ice-capable surface maritime security assets.
This limits the ability of the Coast Guard, and the Nation, to credibly uphold sovereignty or respond to contingencies in the Arctic . On December 6, 2018, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer stated that [w]e need to have a strategic Arctic port up in Alaska . Meanwhile, the 2 closest strategic seaports, as designated by the Department of Defense, to the Arctic Circle are the Port of Anchorage and the Port of Tacoma, located approximately 1,500 nautical miles and 2,400 nautical miles away, respectively, and approximately 1,900 nautical miles and 2,800 nautical miles, respectively, from Barrow, Alaska.
In this section, the term Arctic has the meaning given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 ( 15 U.S.C. 4111 ). It is the sense of Congress that— the Arctic is a region of strategic importance to the national security interests of the United States; there is a compelling national, regional, Alaska Native, and private sector need for permanent maritime and other infrastructure development and for a presence in the Arctic region by the United States to support and facilitate search and rescue, shipping safety, economic development, oil spill prevention and response, protection of subsistence and commercial fishing, port of refuge, Arctic research, and maritime law enforcement on the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the Arctic Ocean; and it is in the national interest to enhance existing and develop maritime and other infrastructure in the Arctic that would allow the Coast Guard and the Navy each to perform their respective statutory duties and functions on a more permanent basis with minimal mission interruption.
The Secretary shall expedite the completion of the applicable decision document for the project for navigation, Arctic Deep Draft Port, Nome, Alaska.
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Sec. 1206
Arctic deep draft port
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