; (E) there is a pattern of aggressive Russian behavior here in the Arctic and we know Russian territorial ambitions can turn violent ; and (F) we do not want the Arctic Ocean to transform into a new South China Sea, fraught with militarization and competing territorial claims , nor do we want the fragile Arctic environment exposed to the same ecological devastation caused by China's fishing fleet in the seas off its coast, or unregulated industrial activity in its own country . (25) On December 6, 2018, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer stated that [w]e need to have a strategic Arctic port up in Alaska. We need to be doing FONOPs in the northwest—in the northern passage … peace through presence with a submarine is a little tough . (26) Meanwhile, the two closest strategic seaports, as designated by the Department of Defense, to the Arctic Circle are the Port of Anchorage and the Port of Tacoma, located approximately 1,500 nautical miles and 2,400 nautical miles away, respectively, and approximately 1,900 nautical miles and 2,800 nautical miles respectively from Barrow, Alaska. (27) The distance from Bangor, Maine, to Key West, Florida, is approximately 1,450 nautical miles. 3. Statement of policy It is the policy of the United States— (1) to prioritize Navy and Coast Guard missions, infrastructure and capability development, training, and stationing of assets to meet the growing array of challenges in the Arctic due to the region’s strategic importance to the national security interests of the United States; (2) that the increasing freedom of navigation and expansion of activity in the Arctic must be met with increasing deployment of Navy and Coast Guard surface vessels capable of exerting influence through persistent presence in the Arctic