Protecting U.S. navigational rights and freedoms in Arctic waterways is key to keeping the Arctic region stable and secure, as thawing ice opens sea lanes and yields growing geopolitical competition for access to minerals critical to defense systems and other smart technologies, according to a Pentagon official. Iris Ferguson, deputy assistant under secretary of defense for arctic and global resilience, told Inside Defense that “given its strategic location, the Arctic is a potential avenue for expanded great power competition...
