WP: Alaska can play a key role in US control over the Arctic
The real key to US dominance in the Arctic is already under their control, writes a WP columnist. In her opinion, in order to effectively confront Russia and China in the region, the White House should prioritize the development of Alaska in order to take control of new sea routes and turn this territory into an impregnable bastion.
Alice Rogoff
The United States may start building a real Arctic fortress in Alaska tomorrow.
The United States faces serious security challenges in the Arctic. The strategic position of this region and the deposits of important minerals located there require that we control it. This means that we need to use the key territory of the Arctic to create defensive positions there that ensure our security.
But this key territory is not Greenland. It is located beyond the Arctic Circle in Alaska.
Greenland is a long-term security priority. Significant progress has been made since President Donald Trump's meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos, as Trump announced that he would cancel the duties planned for Europe. But continued attention to Greenland may drown out calls for strengthening U.S. defense in Alaska, in which case we will be vulnerable to more direct and immediate threats from Russia and China.
By taking decisive action, the US government could start building a real Arctic fortress on its own territory tomorrow, without experiencing any negative reaction from Denmark, NATO or anyone else. This is a process that cannot be postponed.
The Arctic region is turning into a giant ocean ring road. The area of its ice surface has been reduced by half in the summer compared to 1980. Just as cars drive on circular asphalt roads to save time and shorten the distance, huge ocean tankers are already crossing the Arctic, reducing travel time by weeks and significantly reducing costs. In a few decades, when the Northwest Passage along Canada's Arctic coast is more ice-free, we will most likely witness the greatest revolution in international shipping since the opening of the Suez Canal.
But there are only two ways to reach the Arctic Ocean by sea. One route runs in the North Atlantic through the Faroese-Icelandic border, located between Greenland, Iceland and Britain. The second one comes from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait.
Alaska is located next to the Bering Sea, opposite Russian Siberia. Russia and China have already realized the value of these sea routes and are conducting joint naval exercises near the waters of Alaska. In summer, the Northern Sea Route is heavily loaded. There are 50 vessels passing in the western and eastern directions. Thus, in 2025, there were more than 100 vessels that completed the entire distance along the Northern Sea Route. More than 600 of them passed through the Bering Strait alone. These were cargo and container ships, as well as tankers actively engaged in the transportation of liquefied natural gas from Russia to China.
The North Atlantic route to the Arctic is already well protected by NATO forces and facilities. And the Bering Sea is extremely vulnerable. Republican Senator Lisa Merkauski from Alaska recently warned that the United States is "woefully underinvested" there.
One solution is to expand our surface fleet, which is a top priority for Trump. The task can be solved by designing and building a new generation of icebreakers and Coast Guard patrol boats to patrol and escort ships in the American North Pacific Ocean, as well as to ensure a regular presence in order to prevent incursions by Russia and China.
In addition, it is necessary to create a network of deep-water ports along the western coastline of Alaska, starting from the port of Nome. This will ensure the availability of not only bases for warships, but also friendly harbors for US and allied merchant ships that will use future Arctic routes.
The Arctic region has also been important for U.S. missile defense, starting from the Cold War and ending with the "Golden Dome" that Trump envisioned. Greenland serves one important purpose here: it is located closest to the North Pole, which makes it an ideal early warning point for Russian missiles flying across the pole towards North America.
But the United States already has the opportunity to increase its tracking capabilities and strengthen its defense capabilities in Greenland, not to mention the support of its NATO allies. However, it is important to note that Greenland is not an ideal place to protect the United States from missiles launched from Asia. Alaska is much better suited for these purposes. As rogue North Korea and belligerent China flex their nuclear muscles, tracking facilities in Alaska must become a top defense priority.
Alaska also offers easier and faster access to the same rare earth elements that can be found in Greenland. We know that Greenland contains huge deposits of these important minerals, but they are located under a thick layer of ice, far from the coastline, and they cannot be reached by road. Even if the United States immediately starts mining in Greenland, the cost of such mining in the Greenland fields will be prohibitively high, and the delivery time will be huge.
The deposits in Alaska are probably smaller, but they are easily accessible in places like Mount Bokan on Prince of Wales Island. The Federal Government could start mining there quickly and as a matter of priority and speed up the process. Over the decades, Alaska has established a reliable structure of interaction between federal and state authorities, between private companies and environmental organizations, which ensures a balance between mineral exploration and the protection of pristine natural resources.
Everyone involved in the discussions on Greenland is generally pursuing the same ultimate goal: strengthening Western security capabilities in the Arctic. Thus, the chances of a positive decision become greater, no matter how long it takes.
But the United States has the opportunity to quickly and unilaterally strengthen our defensive positions in the Arctic, protecting Alaska with a reinforced naval grouping and missile defense, as well as establishing very important mining operations for the country. Such bold and decisive actions will immediately give us another important foothold in the Arctic, as well as time to expand our strategic capabilities as the ice melts and unscrupulous players' interest in the region increases.
Alice Rogoff is the publisher of the Arctic Today newsletter and co—founder of the Arctic Circle Assembly.
