Melting ice in the Arctic could allow Chinese navy to confront Nato within 20 ... trends now
View
comments
The melting of the Arctic ice cap could allow the Chinese navy to confront Nato in the Atlantic within the next two decades, defence chiefs have warned.
Beijing’s nuclear submarine fleet may routinely be able to exploit the Northwest Passage through the Arctic much sooner if the ice thins, potentially posing a threat to the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
The warning comes amid alarm at increasingly close ties between China and Russia.
Yesterday, Beijing revealed that President Xi Jinping will make a rare trip outside China next week to hold a summit in Russia with Vladimir Putin.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘China is a threat to us and the longer we try to dial that down the more China thinks we are weak and the more emboldened they become.
