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Dr. Elizabeth Buchanan is an expert on polar geopolitics and lecturer in Strategic Studies at Deakin University Australia and a Fellow of the Modern War Institute at West Point. She says strategic climate research is a key interest for India in the Arctic.
Energy, security, and strategic climate research
What does India want to achieve in the Arctic?
"Interests include energy, security, strategic climate research, and nationalism when it comes to India and the Arctic. Energy-wise, Delhi is looking to secure supplies from Russia's Arctic LNG ventures and, in the longer term, work with Moscow not on the Northern Sea Route but on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a land corridor that will connect Russian Arctic hydrocarbons to India. This is of interest to Russia as well, given the ability to diversify export corridors, and certainly; diversify its customer base in Asia away from China", she says and continues:
"Strategic climate research is a key interest for India, and it has been the basis of Delhi's Arctic presence at its Arctic stations - Himadri IndArc - on the Svalbard archipelago. The Arctic is a bellwether for climate change and environmental data collection, which is critical to Indian security, given the uptick in climate-induced extreme weather events (disastrous monsoon seasons, flash flooding crop yield implications)", says Buchanan, and adds:
"Nationalism is an interesting basis for India's Arctic goals, indeed the fact that India crafted an Arctic Strategy points to this reality. Far from the Arctic geographically, India has inserted itself into the High North for the aforementioned reasons, but also quite simple to ascertain global reach and international standing. On the back of India's well-established, over 30 years now, Antarctic program, it has established 3 stations on the continent, two of which are operational today."
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