DISEC (DISARMAMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY)

The Arctic region first gained importance during World War II and the Cold War when it was used as a supply line to the Soviet Union from its allies. Seeing how beneficial the untouched land was economically, it inevitably invited huge disputes over it. The Soviet Union and the United States were the two most influential parties in this dispute. The former desired to build a naval power for itself. Both parties posed as the most effective threats against one another during the Cold War due to their incredibly well-developed military capabilities like the nuclear submarine and the anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Ever since global warming has been on the rise, attention has shifted towards the arctic due to the summer ice melting, paving the way open for maritime transit passageways such as the Northwest Passage(NP) which currently Canada and USA are in dispute over and the northern sea route(NSR) which reduces 40% of the travel distance with respect to the traditional southern routes and it also no news that going through the Arctic ocean would significantly decrease the distance between Asia and Europe. The Arctic has an abundance of natural resources with 13% of the world’s oil resources found there and about 70% reserves located in the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone. 

 

After seeing how the Arctic is proving to be such a beneficial asset, the US is currently trying to push forward their territorial claims which led to the Lomonosov Ridge dispute between Canada, Russia and Denmark. Russia launched an expedition to find evidence of extension of their subcontinent, and seeing this, other countries did so as well. The Arctic five nations namely the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark have been expanding their military capabilities and have also begun exploiting the natural resources and commercial routes for transportation. Therefore, the delegates shall discuss all these issues revolving around the Arctic region and the consequences as well and will try to move towards a solution which could end all potential conflicts and result in international peace and security.

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- by VANI GAUR (USG PRESS)