The sky is a sharp, cloudless blue, and the air is surprisingly warm. Sunlight filters through the silver trunks of a forest near Anchorage, where, just two months ago, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met. It’s hard to imagine that in this quiet, remote landscape — thousands of miles from Washington and Moscow — one of the most delicate geopolitical games of the 21st century is being played.
Alaska, separated from the rest of the United States by Canada and stretching toward the Arctic, has become much more than a remote outpost. It is the new frontier of global power. Here, among glaciers and military bases, the strategic interests of the United States, Russia, and China intersect.
Geography explains it all. The state lies only 85 kilometers from Siberia, across the narrow Bering Strait. The air routes that cross over the North Pole are the shortest between Asia and North America — a detail that, in a connected and tense world, makes all the difference. It’s no coincidence that Anchorage’s Ted Stevens International Airport is now one of the world’s most important cargo hub. Every day, dozens of planes from China, Korea, and Japan stop here to refuel or exchange goods before continuing on to the continental United States.
But Alaska is more than a logistical waypoint. From a military perspective, it’s a frontline stronghold. In the event of a conflict between Washington and Beijing, polar routes would drastically reduce the flight time for missiles and bombers. That’s why the Pentagon has intensified its presence here: upgraded air bases, F-35 fighter jets ready to launch, and advanced radar systems at the Clear Space Force Station, the heart of America’s space surveillance network. The site could soon host part of the so-called “Golden Dome”, the missile defense system first envisioned under the Trump administration.
Economically, Alaska remains a land of opportunity. Beneath its surface lie vast reserves of oil, gas, and critical minerals, key resources for the world’s energy transition. And as the Arctic ice recedes, new shipping routes are emerging, linking Asia and Europe while cutting travel time and costs. “It’s much easier to reach America from China through the Arctic now that the ice is melting,” says Richard Marshall, a board member of the Alaska World Affairs Council. China, working with Russia, is investing in what it calls the “Polar Silk Road” — a trade corridor that challenges traditional routes through Suez or Panama. Controlling or obstructing these passages could reshape the global economy.
Thus, in the stillness of its forests and under the long light of the Arctic summer, Alaska reveals itself as far more than America’s periphery. It is its outpost to the future — a crossroads of power, wealth, and strategy that may determine the fate of the planet.
