彭况 By Peng Kuang
5月20日，第12届北极理事会部长级会议在冰岛首都雷克雅未克闭幕。俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫与美国国务卿布林肯利用这一多边舞台，于19日晚在雷克雅未克举行了会晤。这是美国拜登政府上台以来两国外长首次面对面会晤。
The 12th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting closed in Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland, on May 20. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took advantage of this multilateral stage and held a meeting in Reykjavik on the evening of May 19. This is the first face-to-face meeting between Russian and American top diplomatic officials after the Biden administration took office.
在一片矛盾之中，俄美双方选择“北极理事会”作为会谈的场合，倒也映衬出“北极”这块特殊的地理区域在国际关系中所蕴含的多层特殊意义。
With rising tensions, choosing the "Arctic Council" ministerial meeting as the venue for the talks between Russia and the US also reflects the special significance in multiple ways of "the Arctic" in international relations.
首先，这是一块地缘博弈的“战场”。对北极这片区域，俄美双方都不陌生。冷战时期，从天空到水下，这里曾经是军事对抗的前沿阵地——事实上，直到现在也是。由于地球是一个球体，所以在两国之间，最近的导弹飞行路线既不是经大西洋也不是经太平洋，而是从北极上空飞过。从北冰洋厚厚的冰层下破壳而出的弹道导弹核潜艇，能够轻而易举地威慑世界上绝大多数发达国家，毕竟在地理上它们大多位于北半球。从军事斗争的角度，俄美都不敢轻视北极的地位和作用。
To start with, the Arctic serves as the "battlefield" of geopolitical competition. Both Russia and the US are no strangers to this area. During the Cold War, this area, from the sky to the water, was once the frontier of military confrontation. In fact, it still is. Since the earth is a sphere, the closest missile flight path between the two countries is neither via the Atlantic nor the Pacific, but over the North Pole. The ballistic missile nuclear submarine that can break out of the thick ice of the Arctic Ocean can easily deter most developed countries in the world. After all, most of them are geographically located in the northern hemisphere. From the perspective of military struggle, Russia and the US dare not underestimate the status and role of the Arctic.
1986年10月，美苏领导人就曾在雷克雅未克会晤，针对美苏大幅削减核武器的提议展开探讨。包括本次会谈在内，两个军事大国在北极地区的一举一动，成为了观测世界形势变化的“温度计”。
In October 1986, the leaders of the US and the Soviet Union met in Reykjavik to discuss the proposal to drastically reduce nuclear weapons. Each move of the two military powers, including the meeting in the Arctic region this time, has become a "thermometer" for observing changes in the world situation.
其次，这是经贸往来的“新舞台”。北极地区在近年来越来越受到关注，总的原因还是，全球变暖导致海冰大面积融化，使得一些新的航海线路逐渐成为商业上可行的方案。
Second, the Arctic is a "new stage" for economic and trade exchanges. The Arctic region has received more and more attention in recent years. The overall reason is that global warming has caused a large area of sea ice to melt, making some new navigation routes commercially viable options.
然而，北极航线的商业开发前景受制于国际局势的“大气候”。美国所谓“自由航行”的无理姿态也延伸到了北冰洋海域。考虑到地理因素，加拿大和俄罗斯都希望针对相应的航道采取更为严格的管理措施。但美国完全从自身角度出发提出种种无理要求，使得北极航线的商业前景在八字都还没看到一撇时就已经蒙上了阴影。
However, the prospects for commercial development of the Arctic route are subject to the "big climate" of the international situation. The unreasonable posture in the name of the so-called "freedom of navigation" of the US has also extended to the seas of the Arctic Ocean. Considering geographical factors, both Canada and Russia hope to adopt more stringent management measures for the corresponding waterways. However, the US put forward all kinds of unreasonable demands completely from its own perspective, which has cast a shadow over the commercial prospects of the Arctic route before it was even planned.
最后，尽管处于极寒之地，但北极依然是我们人类的“栖息之地”。1200多万平方千米的北冰洋，面积比欧洲都大；北极圈内2100余万平方千米的总面积，占到了地球总表面积的1/25。北极理事会成立时拥有8个成员国，时至今日，已经发展成为有着越来越多的近北极国家、相关国际组织与机构以各种形式参与其中的、最受重视的北极合作机制。
Finally, despite being in an extremely cold place, the Arctic is still a human "habitation place" . With an area of more than 12 million square kilometers, the Arctic Ocean is larger than the size of Europe. The total area of more than 21 million square kilometers in the Arctic Circle accounts for 1/25 of the total surface area of the earth. The Arctic Council had eight member states when it was established. Today, it has developed into the most valued Arctic cooperation mechanism with an increasing number of "Near-Arctic States", related international organizations and institutions participating in various forms.
人类只有一个地球，地球也只有一个北极，它不应成为地缘博弈的“战场”。无论是攸关北极的应对气候变化方案，还是多边框架下的国际合作，能够对人类命运共同体作出哪些真正的贡献，这才是值得我们去关注的。
Human beings have only one earth, and the earth has only one Arctic. The Arctic should not become the "battlefield" of geopolitical rivalry. Whether it is a climate change plan that is vital to the Arctic or international cooperation under a multilateral framework, we need to pay attention to the real contributions made to the building of a community of shared future for mankind.
