Sen. Dan Sullivan warned the United States has a long way to go to catch up with Russia's military presence in the Arctic, The Washington Free Beacon reported Monday.
Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Russia has recently built 14 airfields and arctic ports, four new Arctic brigade combat teams, and 40 icebreakers, far outstripping what the U.S. has in the region.
The importance of the Arctic is expected to increase significantly in the near future, as rising temperatures continue to melt sea ice there, opening up vital shipping lanes and access to natural resources, according to an unclassified strategic report recently released by the Defense Department to Congress.
The diminishing sea ice will not only open a waterway directly to North America from Russia, it is also damaging U.S. infrastructure along the coast, including the capability to track incoming ships, according to the report.
Already, Russia requires permits for any ships sailing along the Northern Sea Route, despite American objections it violates international law.
"Russia has been changing the facts on the ground in a very major way that is somewhat analogous to what's going on in the South China Sea, where we start to talk about it, but in the meantime others are acting – and all the sudden we find ourselves behind strategically," Sullivan told the Free Beacon.
Sullivan last year helped pass an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Defense Department to update its Arctic military strategy.
Sullivan said the report's request for more funds to modernize infrastructure in the Arctic and expand the naval fleet there does not go far enough.
The senator said he is encouraged the Trump administration has signaled it would prioritize developing a U.S. strategy in the Arctic, and the fact Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis "has indicated to me this is important is a good reboot of strategy in an important part of the world that needs the Pentagon's increased focus and attention."
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