Norway and China in full confrontation: The dawn of a Third World War?

In the Arctic, the last private plot is up for sale. Something to interest China and greatly worry the Norwegian authorities.

This isolated 60km² area of mountains and plains, devoid of buildings but bordered by a glacier, is located in the southwest of the Svalbard archipelago, between the North Pole and mainland Norway. As tensions intensify between the West and Russia and the ‘ice sheet retreats’, this Arctic region continues to increase in value. A value that is both economic and geopolitical, reports the media Blue News.

Selling price: 300 million euros

Today, the Søre Fagerfjord estate is for sale... for the modest sum of 300 million euros. Per Kyllingstad, the lawyer representing the sellers, extols its virtues: “It's the last private plot in Svalbard and, to our knowledge, the last private plot in the world in the Far North.” He adds that he's receiving “concrete expressions of interest” from China.

In 2018, as a sign of its importance, a White Paper was dedicated to the region by China, which represents itself as "a ‘near-Arctic state’ and intends to play a growing role there," Blue News indicates. To this day, the Svalbard archipelago is "governed by a legal UFO" that calls for foreign interests and curiosities. “A 1920 treaty recognises Norwegian sovereignty over this territory but also grants the nationals of contracting parties, including China, the right to exploit natural resources there ‘on a footing of absolute equality’.” Russia, in this regard, holds several footholds, with its state-owned company Trust Arktikugol currently exploiting coal deposits there.

Norway must agree

This is enough to infuriate Norway, which sees China, right after Russia, as a major threat to the country. Cecilie Myrseth, the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, also stated that the plot couldn't be sold without the agreement of Norwegian authorities, adding that it was “not possible to enter into property negotiations either”. The estate's owners have been issued a formal notice by the State Prosecutor. Objective: to cancel the sale.

99.5% of Svalbard is owned by the Norwegian State, which "has designated most of the territory, including the Søre Fagerfjord area, as protected areas where construction and motorised travel are notably prohibited". The sellers, however, don't see it the same way, citing the 1920 treaty in which it is stated that "all parties must have the same rights", notes lawyer Per Kyllingstad. He points out that if the treaty is not respected, Norway, having built several infrastructures, including housing, port facilities, and an airport, could suddenly forbid Russian activities on the archipelago, potentially triggering "a Third World War".

A red rag to wave

For his part, Andreas Østhagen, a researcher at the Nansen Institute, takes a more moderate stance on the matter. In particular, he explains that "the land at Søre Fagerfjord has minimal economic value" and its potential sale doesn't represent "a huge threat" to Norway. However, "owning land in Svalbard could have strategic value in 50 or 100 years", he asserts. According to him, China's interest is a "red rag" to prompt Norway to do something about this land.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source: Blue news - Illustration: ©Unsplash)