In Thomas Sattich, Espen Moe, Marco Grasso, Miranda Schreurs and Shaohua Yan (eds), De Gruyter Handbook of Ocean Governance and Maritime Affairs. Walter de Gruyter, 2025, pp. 325-337. DOI: 10.1515/9783111195544-025
The Arctic’s geopolitical significance is rising due to climate change and the strategic value of controlling data in digital economies, leading to intensified competition among the EU, China, the US, and Russia. Nations like Russia, the US, and Japan are racing to lay undersea communication cables in Arctic waters, driven by the need for secure, fast data transmission.
Although laying cables in the Arctic is costly and challenging, the region offers shorter distances between Asia, Europe, and America, reducing communication time. This chapter explores the commercial and strategic consequences of this cable race regionally and globally. Regionally, it examines how competing projects could complicate Arctic maritime governance, especially with non-Arctic states becoming key players. Globally, it analyzes how this cable race fits into broader US–China and NATO–Russia techno-strategic rivalries, focusing on the normative, strategic, and economic implications of controlling these critical communication channels.
