March 5 (UPI) -- This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Arctic Council, once a hallmark of post-Cold War cooperation in the far north.
For decades, the Arctic Ocean remained at the margins of global power politics -- a remote, ice-locked expanse governed largely through scientific collaboration and consensus-based frameworks.
That balance is now shifting. Rapid ice loss is opening seasonal sea lanes, exposing fragile ecosystems and drawing new commercial and strategic interest, even as the suspension of routine cooperation with Russia has strained the council's role.
The Arctic is emerging as a maritime crossroads where environmental risk, economic ambition and intensifying geopolitical competition increasingly converge.
Related
