Once China begins operating in a stretch of sea, reclaiming it often proves an uphill battle – just ask the Philippines or the Vietnamese or anyone else entangled in Beijing’s unyielding “Nine Dash Line” campaign to snatch the South China Sea. Now that same playbook seems to be unfolding in the frozen expanses of the Arctic, where China’s polar icebreaker Xue Long 2 has been spotted in international waters north of Alaska, signalling a continued push into the High North that could reshape global maritime dynamics.
Xue Long 2, China’s first domestically constructed polar vessel, left from Shanghai for its summer 2025 research expedition and crossed into Arctic territory around July 22. Designed to be able to break through ice up to 1.5 metres thick, the ship has been conducting operations in sensitive areas, with indications that two more Chinese icebreakers are en route to join the effort.
There’s a pattern here. China stakes out a presence – ostensibly scientific, often co-operative. Then comes more equipment. Then military protection. Then grey-zone harassment. Eventually, the region becomes “disputed”, often indefinitely. The Arctic, long considered neutral ground, could well be the next frontier in this silent creeping strategy.
Once China begins operating in a stretch of sea, reclaiming it often proves an uphill battle – just ask the Philippines or the Vietnamese or anyone else entangled in Beijing’s unyielding “Nine Dash Line” campaign to snatch the South China Sea. Now that same playbook seems to be unfolding in the frozen expanses of the Arctic, where China’s polar icebreaker Xue Long 2 has been spotted in international waters north of Alaska, signalling a continued push into the High North that could reshape global maritime dynamics.
Xue Long 2, China’s first domestically constructed polar vessel, left from Shanghai for its summer 2025 research expedition and crossed into Arctic territory around July 22. Designed to be able to break through ice up to 1.5 metres thick, the ship has been conducting operations in sensitive areas, with indications that two more Chinese icebreakers are en route to join the effort.
There’s a pattern here. China stakes out a presence – ostensibly scientific, often co-operative. Then comes more equipment. Then military protection. Then grey-zone harassment. Eventually, the region becomes “disputed”, often indefinitely. The Arctic, long considered neutral ground, could well be the next frontier in this silent creeping strategy.