Utah Sen. Mike Lee is pushing to ban ships from accessing U.S. waters for the purpose of maritime research if the vessels are from or are associated with adversarial nations, according to a new bipartisan bill introduced on Monday.
The Arctic Security and Diplomacy Act, filed by Lee and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, would codify a proclamation made during President Donald Trump’s first term to require foreign vessels to request authorization before conducting research in waters located in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. That zone is mainly located between Alaska and Russia as well as parts of the Pacific Coast region, and is the largest of its kind in the world.
Additionally, the legislation would outright ban ships from adversarial nations such as China and Russia from accessing the waters at all — even if those countries request permission.
“The United States must not tolerate China’s increasing incursions into US waters under the guise of surveys and research,” Lee said in a statement. “This legislation shuts the door to foreign adversaries attempting to commit espionage and exercise influence at our doorstep in the Arctic, affirming the sole right of the American people to determine who may approach their shores, from the Aleutians to the Beaufort Sea.”
Under the proposal, the secretary of state would need to establish a formal strategy with the defense secretary “to identify and combat espionage and influence operations by foreign adversaries in the Arctic.” The secretary of state would then need to submit a report to Congress on any espionage or influence operations being carried out in water regions wherein the U.S has jurisdiction.
The legislation comes after the Department of Homeland Security released a report last year showing “an unprecedented number of Chinese military and research vessels operated in or near U.S. Arctic waters.”
Lee and Shaheen expressed concerns that the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China are “colluding to enhance their competitive presence in the Arctic region,” citing data that show Russia controls roughly 53% of the Arctic coastline.
Those reports show a need for “a focused and strategic defense by the United States to protect America’s Arctic waters from adversarial espionage,” the senators said in a joint press release.
“I recently returned from a bipartisan congressional delegation to Canada, Greenland, Norway and Iceland, where we heard firsthand how Russia and China are expanding their presence and influence across the Arctic,” Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “As these adversaries deepen their cooperation in the region, the United States must deepen our own partnerships with Arctic allies to protect our waters, critical infrastructure and national security interests.”