World War 3 or Cold War? Focus On Arctic Oil
The Arctic is heating up, both climatically and militarily. Vladimir Putin sends troops and jets to oil- and gas-rich region also coveted by Canada, United States, Norway and Denmark.
A report by the Inquisitr says that although not a single politician or world leader has specifically mentioned the possibility of World War 3 over Arctic oil drilling, many experts feel long term economic pressures may be the driver for war.
Vladimir Putin's deployment of thousands of Russian ground troops into the Arctic might seem simply like a strategic shift north of Europe, but why put so many men so far away? Analysts feel that it is in reaction to NATO’s recent interest in the region. Since oil is at stake, the potential for conflict is considered to be heightened and many reports have compared the situation to the Cold War.
Experts differ in their views on whether the region, with its vast shipping opportunities and energy resources, could become the site of the next Cold War. Some hope that an economic war, and not nuclear war, will be the only fallout. But predictions for 2015 have already become quite dreary, with some experts declaring that World War 3 is inevitable.
RIA Novosti says that former Soviet bases are being reactivated in response to renewed NATO interest in the region. The Russians are in war mode, Arctic war mode, say observers. Russia has tested the world’s most powerful vacuum bomb - This would be the weapon of choice in the coming Arctic conflict because it would kill soldiers, dismantle military equipment without destroying the surrounding mineral resources, which is the point of the coming conflict. Additionally, Russia is adding 40 new naval ships to its nuclear arsenal in 2014.
Russia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, was even more specific in his statements: “We do not share uneasy forecasts pertaining to the future clash of interests of Arctic and even non-Arctic states under global warming conditions, which lighten the access to natural resources and transport routes,” he said.
Why could Arctic oil drilling cause World War 3? The Arctic’s hydrocarbon resources nevertheless exert a powerful pull. Experts believe that arctic oil drilling may represent a second middle east, with oil and gas reserves estimated to represent between 17 and 30 percent of the global total.
Meanwhile, the government of Greenland has already issued licenses to oil companies of Denmark, Canada and Great Britain to conduct the geological survey on the shelf.
The Arctic, which is governed by international maritime law, is also the focus of other disputes.
