New U.S. Arctic strategy focuses on “day-to-day competition” with Russia and China

New challenges and opportunities for the United States, requiring “sustained American naval presence and partnerships in the Arctic region,” according to the new U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Arctic strategy. The strategy released on Tuesday by outgoing Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite cites an expected rise in commercial shipping, natural resource exploration and increased military competition with Russia and China in the Arctic, calling on the Navy and the Marine Corps to focus on “day-to-day” competition with Moscow and Beijing “whose interests and values differ dramatically from ours.” The strategy identifies the area “stretching from Maine in the North Atlantic across…