; (B) overlapping territorial claims; and (C) the potential for maritime accidents, oil spills, and illegal fishing near the exclusive economic zone of the United States. (9) The increasing role of the United States in the Arctic has been highlighted in each of the last 4 National Defense Authorization Acts. (10) The United States Coast Guard Arctic Strategic Outlook released in April 2019 states that [d]emonstrating commitment to operational presence, Canada, Denmark, and Norway have made strategic investments in ice-capable patrol ships charged with national or homeland security missions. [The United States] is the only country with an Arctic presence that has not made similar investments in ice-capable surface maritime security assets. This limits the ability of the Coast Guard, and the Nation, to credibly uphold sovereignty or respond to contingencies in the Arctic . (11) On December 6, 2018, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer stated that [w]e need to have a strategic Arctic port up in Alaska . (12) Meanwhile, the 2 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. (b) Definition of Arctic In this section, the term Arctic has the meaning given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 ( 15 U.S.C. 4111 ). (c) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Arctic is a region of strategic importance to the national security interests of the United States