Sec. 103. Arctic diplomacy

1,072 words·~5 min read·/bill/117/s/1201/is/section-103

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It is the sense of Congress that— the rapidly changing Arctic environment— creates new national and regional security challenges due to increased military activity in the Arctic; heightens the risks of potential conflicts spilling over into the Arctic region from interventions and theaters of tension in other regions of the world; threatens maritime safety due to inadequate regional resource capacity to patrol the increase in vessel traffic this remote region is experiencing from the growing expanses of open Arctic water from diminished annual levels of sea ice; impacts public safety due to increased human activity in the Arctic region where search and rescue capacity remains very limited; and threatens the health of the Arctic’s fragile and historically pristine environment and the unique and highly sensitive species found in the Arctic’s marine and terrestrial ecosystems; and the United States should reduce the consequences outlined in paragraph

(1)by— carefully evaluating the wide variety and extremely dynamic set of security and safety risks unfolding in the Arctic; developing policies and making preparations for mitigating and responding to threats and risks in the Arctic; adequately funding the National Earth System Prediction Capability to substantively improve weather, ocean, and ice predictions on time scales necessary for ensuring regional security and trans-Arctic shipping; investing in resources, including a significantly expanded icebreaker fleet, to ensure that the United States has adequate capacity to prevent and respond to security threats in the Arctic region; and pursuing diplomatic engagements with all nations in the Arctic region to reach an agreement for— maintaining peace and stability in the Arctic region; and fostering cooperation on stewardship and safety initiatives in the Arctic region. In this section: The term Arctic Nations means the 8 nations with territory or exclusive economic zones that extend north of the 66.56083 parallel latitude north of the equator, namely Russia, Canada, the United States, Norway, Denmark (including Greenland), Finland, Sweden, and Iceland. The term Arctic Region means the geographic region north of the 66.56083 parallel latitude north of the equator. The Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs shall designate a deputy assistant secretary serving within the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arctic Affairs , who shall be responsible for affairs in the Arctic Region. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arctic Affairs shall— facilitate the development and coordination of United States foreign policy in the Arctic Region relating to— meeting national security needs; protecting the Arctic environment and conserving its biological resources; promoting environmentally sustainable natural resource management and economic development; strengthening institutions for cooperation among the Arctic Nations; involving Arctic indigenous people in decisions that affect them; and enhancing scientific monitoring and research on local, regional, and global environmental issues; coordinate the diplomatic objectives, and, as appropriate, represent the United States within multilateral fora that address international cooperation and foreign policy matters in the Arctic Region; help inform transnational commerce and commercial maritime transit in the Arctic Region; coordinate the integration of scientific data on the current and projected effects of climate change on the Arctic Region and ensure that such data is applied to the development of security strategies for the Arctic Region; make available the methods and approaches on the integration of climate science to other regional security planning programs in the Department of State to better ensure that broader decision-making processes may more adequately account for the effects of climate change; serve as a key point of contact for other Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Intelligence Community, on Arctic Region security issues; develop and facilitate the implementation of an Arctic Region Security Policy in accordance with subsection (f); use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to encourage other countries and international multilateral organizations to support the principles of the Arctic Region Security Policy implemented pursuant to subsection (f); and perform such other duties and exercise such powers as the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and the Secretary of State shall prescribe. The Secretary of State may change the title of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arctic Affairs designated under subsection

(c)to Special Representative or Special Envoy with the rank of Ambassador if— the President nominates the person so designated to that rank and status; and the Senate confirms such person to such rank and status. The Arctic Region Security Policy shall include requirements for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, embassies, regional bureaus, and other offices with a role in conflict avoidance, prevention and security assistance, or humanitarian disaster response, prevention, and assistance to assess, develop, budget for, and implement plans, policies, and actions— to enhance the resilience capacities of Arctic Nations to the effects of climate change and increased civilian and military activity from Arctic Nations and other nations that may result from increased accessibility of the Arctic Region due to decreased sea ice, warmer ambient air temperatures and other effects of climate change, as a means of reducing the risk of conflict and instability; to assess specific added risks to the Arctic Region and Arctic Nations that— are vulnerable to the effects of climate change; and are strategically significant to the United States; to account for the impacts on human health, safety, stresses, reliability, food production, fresh water and other critical natural resources, and economic activity; to coordinate the integration of climate change risk and vulnerability assessments into the decision-making process on foreign assistance awards to Arctic Nations; to advance principles of good governance by encouraging and cooperating with Arctic Nations on collaborative approaches— to sustainably manage natural resources in the Arctic Region; to share the burden of ensuring maritime safety in the Arctic Region; to prevent the escalation of security tensions by mitigating against the militarization of the Arctic Region; to develop mutually agreed upon multilateral policies among Arctic Nations on the management of maritime transit routes through the Arctic Region and work cooperatively on the transit policies for access to and transit in the Arctic Region by non-Arctic Nations; and to facilitate the development of Arctic Region Security Action Plans to ensure stability and public safety in disaster situations in a humane and responsible fashion; and to evaluate the vulnerability, security, susceptibility, and resiliency of United States interests and nondefense assets in the Arctic Region.