Comprehensive new statement of U.S. Arctic policy.

• Author: Crook, John R.

In January 2009, during the final days of his administration, President George W. Bush issued combined National Security and Homeland Security Directives on U.S. policy in the Arctic region. (1) As to Arctic policy, the combined directives (NSPD 66 and HSPD 24) supersede Presidential Decision Directive 26 issued in 1994. U.S. policy regarding the Antarctic is not affected. The new directive results from the first comprehensive reassessment of U.S. Arctic policy in many years and seems likely to provide a framework for action by the Obama administration.

The ten-page directive, addressed to ten cabinet departments and the Environmental Protection Agency, aims to update U.S. policy to reflect climate change in the Arctic and other developments. It calls for a more vigorous U.S. military and navigational presence in the Arctic and reaffirms the long-standing U.S. view that the Northwest Passage is an international strait subject to the regime of transit passage, a position that Canada disputes. The directive opposes negotiation of a comprehensive multilateral treaty on the Arctic comparable to the Antarctic Treaty but strongly reaffirms executive branch support for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea [LOS Convention] as, inter alia, the "most effective way to achieve international recognition and legal certainty for our extended continental shelf." The document affirms the U.S. preference to address many questions relating to the Arctic with other circumpolar states through the mechanism of the Arctic Council, although it opposes transforming the council into an international organization with assessed contributions. Substantial excerpts from the combined directives follow.

2. BACKGROUND

   1. The United States is an Arctic nation, with varied and compelling interests in that region. This directive takes into account several developments, including, among others:

   1. Altered national policies on homeland security and defense;

   2. The effects of climate change and increasing human activity in the Arctic region;

   3. The establishment and ongoing work of the Arctic Council; and

   4. A growing awareness that the Arctic region is both fragile and rich in resources.

3. POLICY

   1. It is the policy of the United States to:

      1. Meet national security and homeland security needs relevant to the Arctic region;

      2. Protect the Arctic environment and conserve its biological resources;

         3 Ensure that natural resource management and economic development in the region are environmentally sustainable;

      4. Strengthen institutions for cooperation among the eight Arctic nations (the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, and Sweden);

      5. Involve the Arctic's indigenous communities in decisions that affect them; and

      6. Enhance scientific monitoring and research into local, regional, and global environmental issues.

   2. National Security and Homeland Security Interests in the Arctic

      1. The United States has broad and fundamental national security interests in the Arctic region and is prepared to operate either independently or in conjunction with other states to safeguard these interests....

      2. The United States also has fundamental homeland security interests in preventing terrorist attacks ....

      3. ... Human activity in the Arctic region is increasing and is projected to increase further in coming years. This requires the United States to assert a more active and influential national presence to protect its Arctic interests and to project sea power throughout the region.

      4. The United States exercises authority in accordance with lawful claims of United States sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the Arctic region, including sovereignty within the territorial sea, sovereign rights and jurisdiction within the United States exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf, and appropriate control in the United States contiguous zone.

      5. Freedom of the seas is a top national priority. The Northwest Passage is a strait used for international navigation, and the Northern Sea Route includes straits used for international navigation; the regime of transit passage applies to passage through those straits....

      6. Implementation: ... [The...