the u.s. is one of only eight countries with territory above the arctic circle and now china wants a piece of it too is why it matters. as the snow caps are melting to the climate change, china russia and the u.s. are in a race for the national resources there. new sources of oil coal and gas as well as clean energy and rare earth of minerals. and shorten trade routes, it is 20 days shorter to get from asia to europe via the arctic. russia has been building up its capabilities in the arctic including its heavy icebreakers. vladimir putin is dated his vision for the northern sea route to become a alternative to the suez canal to facilitate faster trade between europe and asia. we are building icebreakers finally. and we have to live one is broken and we are building in russia by the way is 54 and many which is nuclear powered. after years of resisting the arctic is now a key focus of