NATO Admiral Says Growing China-Russia Ties Raise Risk in Arctic
- Northern Sea route in focus as Ukraine war shifts trade links
- Naive to expect only commercial use, top military officer says
Admiral Rob Bauer
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
NATO is increasingly concerned about China’s shipping on Russia’s Northern Sea route, and the possibility that its commercial and scientific interests could be a precursor to a Chinese military presence in the Arctic, the alliance’s senior military officer said.
“We know there are military scientists on board these ships,” Admiral Rob Bauer, who chairs NATO’s Military Committee, said in an interview in Iceland on Saturday. “They haven’t said they won’t go there militarily.”