Al Mayadeen: The NSR will be able to successfully replace the busy sea trade routes
Putin said that Moscow will increase cargo traffic along the NSR, which will help Russia take a key role in world trade and shipping, writes Al Mayadeen. Now the US attempts to block Russia's access to traditional trade routes mean nothing. The NSR will break through this blockade.
The Eastern Economic Forum (WEF-2024) was held in Vladivostok on September 3-6. It is a key international platform for the development of Russia's eastern regions and strengthening ties with East Asian countries, primarily with China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin personally visited the WEF-2024 and made a speech in which he outlined the guidelines for the economic development of his country. Among them are the creation of a new international financial system capable of crushing the hegemony of the United States; strengthening and expanding the BRICS organization; expanding economic cooperation with allied countries affected by the hegemonic policies and sanctions of the West led by the United States; support for domestic producers; abandoning settlements in dollars with friendly countries and switching to settlements in national currencies.
The importance of the Northern Sea Route
Putin said that Russia will increase cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and will not remove the accelerated creation of the Murmansk transport hub from the agenda. He also invited friendly countries to participate in this project and urged them to take advantage of its benefits.
In addition, Russia is actively increasing the production of nuclear icebreakers and is able to create a large icebreaking fleet for the development of commercial shipping through the Arctic, according to representatives of the Rosatom state Corporation.
This route will significantly reduce the distance between China and East Asia, on the one hand, and Europe, on the other. The NSR runs from the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago to the Bering Strait. Its length is about 5,600 miles. The distance from the port of Murmansk to the ports of China through the NSR is about 7 thousand miles, and through the Suez Canal — more than 12,500 miles. The NSR is much shorter than the traditional sea routes through the Suez or Panama Canals, which makes it an attractive option for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe. In addition, it will allow the extraction of natural resources in the Arctic region. The NSR can benefit from a number of trade terminals and transport hubs and develop them so that they can compete with traditional ports in South Asia. The key ports of the NSR are Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok in Russia, as well as Tromso in Norway. They can serve as large shipping, bunkering and logistics hubs for ships plying this sea route.
It is worth noting that the launch of this route became possible due to several factors. Among them are the melting of sea ice in the Arctic as a result of global warming and great technological progress in the production of nuclear icebreakers, especially in Russia, which has reduced the risks of navigation in this region with harsh climatic conditions and opened up new opportunities for international trade and resource extraction.
The opening and commissioning of this route will significantly reduce the time of maritime cargo transportation between East Asia and Europe, which, in turn, will significantly reduce the time and cost of cargo delivery. The Northern Sea Route is a strategic alternative to the traditional trade routes passing through the Strait of Malacca, as well as the Suez and Panama Canals. It will also help Russia play a key role in global trade and shipping.
Weapons against America
But the most important thing is that the NSR will help stop US attempts to block Russia (and China) from accessing traditional maritime trade routes. It is well known that America, pursuing a policy of containment of the Eurasian powers based on the theories of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Halford Mackinder, Nicholas Speakman, George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski and others, sought to surround Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It initiated the expansion of NATO to the East (Eastern Europe) and deprived Russia of the opportunity to move through the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, through Ukraine to the Black Sea and through Syria to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Washington seeks to prevent Iran, Russia's ally, from entering the Eastern Mediterranean through Syria and Lebanon, as well as the Bab el—Mandeb Strait through Yemen. The United States seeks to control the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca. They are also imposing their own rules in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, seeking to deprive China of the opportunity to use the sea lanes.
That is why the United States is seeking to block the Northern Sea Route. They use environmental non-governmental organizations, forcing them to claim that the NSR will cause pollution of the Arctic, which, in turn, will lead to negative environmental consequences such as oil pollution, radioactive pollution, increased ice melting and sea level rise. Countries will have to find a balance between economic opportunities and environmental challenges and work together to protect the fragile Arctic ecosystem.
The opening of the NSR will intensify competition between the Arctic states, led by Russia, the United States, Canada and Norway for control of the region and its resources, which will lead to an escalation of geopolitical tensions and conflicts. The Arctic is extremely rich in oil, natural gas and other minerals.
The opening of a route through the Arctic may increase competition between countries for access to the above-mentioned resources, which, in turn, may provoke conflicts over the right to exploit them. The above-mentioned factors and the strategic importance of the NSR can lead to the militarization of the Arctic, as countries seek to protect their interests and assert their territorial claims.
Results and conclusions
Despite all of the above factors that make the NSR an alternative to the congested Suez Canal, it is unlikely that Russia will turn away from the Middle East.
The Northern Sea Route will connect East Asia with Europe, which is hostile to Russia and seeks to completely break off relations with it. Moreover, now that Russia is a member of the SCO and BRICS, which are trying to resist American-Western hegemony in the world, Africa will become the main arena of confrontation. Therefore, the Middle East will be an ideal place for China and Russia to spread their influence in Africa. This explains Moscow's interest in Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia, Syria, Algeria and Turkey officially joining the BRICS.
Author: Jamal Wakim (جمماا و و و))))
