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Pompeo: U.S. Prepared to Confront China, Russia in the Arctic

SecState will reportedly tout Trump admin’s focus on dominating Polar North in speech.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver a speech in Finland on Monday promising a new effort by the Trump administration to dominate the Polar North. According to the excerpts of the speech published by Politico, Pompeo will refer to the Arctic as “an arena of global power and competition.” The address will be delivered ahead of a seven-nation meeting involving those with territory in the Arctic. According to the prepared notes, Pompeo will focus on China. “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to transform into a new South China Sea,” he will ask, according to Politico. “Fraught with militarization and competing territorial claims? Just because the Arctic is a place of wilderness does not mean it should become a place of lawlessness.”