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Odd how china claims complete sovereignty over the South China Sea:

In March 2010, Chinese Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo famously said: “The Arctic belongs to all the people around the world, as no nation has sovereignty over it. . . . China must plan an indispensable role in Arctic exploration as we have one-fifth of the world’s population.” 88-95% of resources in the Arctic fall within one of the five Arctic Ocean coastal states Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ's) and China is unlikely to challenge the provision within the Law of the Sea that creates the EEZ's. This, coupled with Chinese companies lack of Arctic expertise, suggest that China will partner with Arctic nations in resource extraction rather than act alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_policy_of_China In 2013, Chinese president Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious infrastructure-building project covering much of Eurasia, various seas, and parts of Africa. At the time, few considered how the Arctic might fit into Beijing’s plans. Now, that issue has come more into focus. According to the paper, China will encourage its developers to build infrastructure along Arctic routes, and urge its shipping companies to conduct trial voyages through the sea. Shipping routes will expand in number, and along them China will facilitate economic and social progress. The paper emphasizes that China has “shared interests” with Arctic nations.

The white paper is careful to emphasize feel-good factors. It says that China will boost polar tourism, which will help local economies and encourage the preservation of traditional cultures. Finland’s Lapland region saw the number of Chinese tourists jump over 90% in 2016 It is the Arctic’s indigenous people, the paper suggests, who will truly benefit from China’s interest in the region.

Hey! just like all those 'lucky indigenopus Tibetans!'

The Chinese White Paper set out China's policy goals as "to understand, protect, develop and participate in the governance in the Arctic" in order to safeguard the interests of all countries and promote sustainable development. "Some people may have misgivings over our participation in the development of the Arctic, worried we may have other intentions, or that we may plunder resources or damage the environment,""I believe these kinds of concerns are absolutely unnecessary.

Yeah right! Free Tibet and get out of the South China Sea ...and we'll talk...http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chinas-arctic-policy-seeks-to-dispel-concerns-over-its-activity-in-the-region ATTN Moderator: this whole discussion may be properly moved to an existing thread in order to $ave bandwidth > http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2225628&postcount=1