The People's Republic of China has recently cast itself as an Arctic nation. In addition to acquiring two icebreakers and building an enormous embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland, Beijing has formally applied for "observer status" in the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum of Arctic states founded by the United States and seven other countries in 1996.
Beijing hopes to maximize its influence in the Council, as that body takes on more importance in managing the vast Arctic-a region with enormous economic, environmental, and potentially even military significance. As Gustav Lind, Sweden's Arctic ambassador and the Council's outgoing chair, told the New York Times last year: "We've changed from a forum to a decision-making body."
At a May 15th meeting in Kiruna, Sweden, which Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to attend, the Arctic Council will consider China's application along with those of several other aspirants, including the European Union. Council decisions are made by consensus, and the Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration has not yet decided whether it will support or oppose Beijing's drive for observer status. The United States should reject China's application, based on both the Arctic Council's formal criteria and Beijing's disregard for the values the Arctic Council is intended to uphold.
Washington probably hoped to sidestep responsibility for dealing with China's application for observer status. It was widely expected that Norway would thwart Beijing's candidacy in light of the harsh retaliation Oslo received after the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize went to Liu Xiaobo. In 2009, China sentenced Liu to 11 years in jail for his writings about political liberties and his signing of Charter 08, a democracy and human rights manifesto initially signed by over 350 Chinese intellectuals and activists on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Beijing's desire to participate in the Arctic Council gave Norway a valuable card to play on Liu's behalf. As Leiv Lunde of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute told The Guardian in March: "There are not many areas where Norway is important to China at all, but the Arctic is one of them." But Norway has apparently sold itself-and Liu Xiaobo-short by accepting Chinese promises to end its bullying in exchange for Oslo changing its position on the observer application. It would be irresponsible to reward Beijing's tactic of behaving aggressively to win concessions and then gain credit for ending its bad behavior. Other members of the Council should also use the leverage Beijing's application provides to press for Liu Xiaobo's release.
