Rosneft President Igor Sechin is concerned about China’s boosting activities in Arctic

China is building Arctic fleet and competes with Russia in Arctic developments, Rosneft President Igor Sechin said at the meeting on the efficient and safe development of the Arctic chaired by Vladimir Putin.

“We presently see a deep interest of other countries to the Arctic, its resources and opportunities. We face plenty of competition. First of all, there are countries with the access to the Arctic shelf – USA, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the countries which seem to be far from the Arctic like China, Japan, S. Korea, India, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and even Singapore. Chinese government, for example, allocates considerable resources for polar research. 

Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon has made a number of expeditions to the Far North. According to the media, China is set to additionally build several modern icebreakers which actually means the creation of China’s national Arctic fleet. The struggle for resources is getting tougher. Arctic activities demonstrate national sovereignty in water areas, especially at disputed territories,” Igor Sechin said.