At a meeting of the Arctic Council last week in the northern Swedish city of Kiruna, a number of countries were granted observer status that don’t border on the Arctic. The Danish daily Jyllands-Posten (May 21) defends the step against critics:
“It makes sense to involve China, India, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Italy. In the debate about the meeting in Kiruna, most of the worried looks were directed at China. The country had announced great interest in the Arctic….
“There can be little doubt that China is not driven by concern for the indigenous population or the fate of the polar bears. The Chinese are acting on the basis of strategic and long-term economic interests, and other states should adjust to this. But it’s a positive development that this will now happen within the framework of rules stipulated by the Arctic Council. By joining, China is also accepting the rules.”
Makes sense. The first rule of diplomacy is to engage even though the other party(s) may have different priorities.