https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2812-8404
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ABSTRACT
The aurora borealis research carried out by China and Japan in the Arctic state of Iceland has been received very differently both in Iceland and abroad. While the Japanese research has gone almost unnoticed for decades, the Chinese research has been received with much scepticism and negative media coverage, including talk of a possible security threat. This paper presents a comparative study which explores the history of the two research projects, as well as their execution and reception. Through the lens of the aurora research, the paper also explores the broader implications of Arctic and science diplomacy on bilateral relations between Iceland and the two Asian powerhouses. As the aurora research in Iceland has so far received limited academic attention outside the natural sciences, the paper is largely based on primary research, including thirteen in-depth interviews with key individuals closely connected to the projects. The paper demonstrates the different reception of the two projects in Iceland and discusses both organisational issues, such as differences in scale and capacity, and underlying factors related to international politics. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that the Japanese case is a purely science-focused collaboration devoid of science diplomacy, while in the Chinese case, science has been used as a tool to facilitate more strategic diplomatic goals – most importantly the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between China and Iceland.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their thorough and constructive feedback, the editors for their guidance, and Professor Valur Ingimundarson, University of Iceland, and Professor Emeritus Jóhann Páll Árnason, La Trobe University, for valuable feedback on an early draft. Further, Julie Summers receives thanks for proofreading at various stages.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Geophysical Institute, “Aurora Forecast”.
2 Sæmundsson, “Norðurljós.”
3 Headquarters for Ocean Policy, “Japan’s Arctic Policy.”
4 The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, “China’s Arctic Policy.”
5 The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, “China’s Arctic Policy,” Section 4.
6 Brady addresses the Chinese research station (CIAO) in her book from 2017, China as a Polar Great Power, pp. 150–151. Note that the name of the station has changed over time, but the abbreviation has remained the same, CIAO. In this paper the station will be referred to as China-Iceland Arctic Observatory, or CIAO for short.
7 The interviews were conducted and processed in accordance with the guidelines of the Science Ethics Committee of the University of Iceland.
8 The Diplomatic Service of the European Union, “What is Science Diplomacy?”
9 Bertelsen and Xing, “Chinese Arctic Science Diplomacy,” 448–49.
10 Thorsteinsson, Utanríkisþjónusta Íslands og Utanríkismál, 1067.
11 Ingvarsdóttir, “Samskipti Íslands og Japans eftir síðari heimsstyrjöld.”
12 Ingvarsdóttir, “Samskipti Íslands og Japans eftir síðari heimsstyrjöld,” 507–508.
13 Tsuruoka, “NATO and Japan as Multifaceted Partners.”
14 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “Remarks.”
15 See more about major trends in Japan’s Arctic engagement in e.g.: Ohnishi, “Japan’s Arctic Policy Development”; Tonami and Watters, “Japan’s Arctic Policy: The Sum of Many Parts”; Tonami, Asian Foreign Policy in a Changing Arctic.
16 Ingvarsdóttir, “Samskipti Íslands og Japans eftir síðari heimsstyrjöld.”
17 Nipr.ac.jp, “‘Dr. Fukasawa’s Talk at Arctic Circle.” The Arctic policy was announced in Tokyo on the same day as in Reykjavík.
18 Kono, ”Speech by H. E. Mr. Taro Kono.”
19 Ministry of Education and Children, “Science Holds the Solutions.”
20 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), “MEXT: Signing of Memorandum of Cooperation.”
21 National Institute of Polar Research, “About Our Institute.”
22 National Institute of Polar Research, “Nihon no Nankyoku kansoku ni tsuite.” Note that the transliteration of the Japanese name ‘Syowa’ follows the practice of NIPR, https://www.nipr.ac.jp/english/outline/summary/history.html
23 Sato, “Aisurando to Syowa Kichi.”
24 Interview with Icelandic scientist, 2022.
25 Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans, “Háloftadeild.” Two smaller stations were also installed in northwest Iceland, but these are no longer in use.
26 Interviews with Icelandic scientists, 2022.
27 Interviews with Icelandic scientists, 2022.
28 Interview with landowner, 2022. The landowner estimated that ca 70 of the guests were scientists and students who were involved in NIPR´s aurora research, while the remaining 20–30 guests were scientists from NIPR´s partner institutions.
29 Níelsson and Hauksdóttir, “Kina, investeringer og sikkerhetspolitikk.”
30 Thorhallsson and Grímsdóttir, “Lilliputian Encounters with Gulliver.”
31 Thorhallsson and Grímsdóttir, “Lilliputian Encounters with Gulliver.”
32 Lanteigne, “Iceland’s ‘Small State’ Economic Diplomacy with China,” 64.
33 Tonami, Asian Foreign Policy.
34 Thorhallsson and Grímsdóttir, “Lilliputian Encounters with Gulliver,” 7.
35 Níelsson, “China Nordic Arctic Research Center,” 59.
36 Blaxekjær, Lanteigne, and Shi, “The Polar Silk Road & the West Nordic Region,” 445. Note that Tonami (Citation2016) has also referred to ‘China’s special relationship with Iceland’ after 2002 (p. 21) and Brady (Citation2017) has discussed ‘Iceland’s ever-closer relations with China’ (p. 176).
37 Brady, China as a Polar Great Power, 3.
38 Brady, China as a Polar Great Power, 31.
39 Pompeo, “Looking North.”
40 The White House, National Strategy, 6.
41 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “NATO 2022 Strategic Concept.”
42 Ingimundarson, “Iceland as an Arctic State,” 251.
43 There are seven official research partners on the Icelandic side, including the Icelandic Centre for Research (Rannís). On the Chinese side, there are 11 official research partners, including the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. See full list, China-Iceland Arctic Observatory, ‘Cooperation’, https://karholl.is/en/history/cooperation.
44 Although a more accurate term would be ‘Huang’ case or the ‘Huang Nubo’ case, it became known as the ‘Nubo’ case in Icelandic media.
45 Níelsson and Hauksdóttir, “Kina, investeringer og sikkerhetspolitikk.”
46 Ingimundarson, “Framing the National Interest,” 93.
47 Correspondence with Reynisson, 2023.
48 China-Iceland Arctic Observatory (CIAO), “About.”
49 China-Iceland Arctic Observatory (CIAO), “Cooperation.”
50 Around 5.07 million USD as of June 30, 2023.
51 Correspondence with Reynisson, 2023.
52 Interviews with Jóhannsson and Reynisson.
53 Lidar (short for Light Detection and Ranging) transmits short pulses of laser light into the atmosphere to measure both distance to and density of various particles in the atmosphere. See Chemical Sciences Laboratory, “Atmospheric Remote Sensing: Instruments.”
54 Fyrirspurn til Forsætisráðherra; Fyrirspurn til Háskóla- Iðnaðar- og Nýsköpunarráðherra; Fyrirspurn til Utanríkisráðherra.
55 Svar Forsætisráðherra; Svar Háskóla-, Iðnaðar- og Nýsköpunarráðherra; Svar Utanríkisráðherra.
56 Interview with an official, 2022.
57 Svar Utanríkisráðherra.
58 The sample consists of written sources, that is, newspaper articles, op-eds in newspapers, government statements, blog posts, etc., on both Chinese and Japanese aurora borealis research in Iceland.
59 The search words for Google and Tímarit.is include both single words and various combinations that have been used in connection with the Japanese and Chinese research. The search was limited to keywords in Icelandic.
60 Vilhjálmsson, “Þingmaður Spyr Katrínu”; Vilhjálmsson, “Katrín: Starfsemi Kínversku Rannsóknarmiðstöðvarinnar”; Vilhjálmsson, “Íslensk Stjórnvöld Hafa Ekkert”; Vilhjálmsson, ”Ísland Gerði Ekkert Mat.”
61 Vilhjálmsson, “Kínverska Ríkið.”
62 Vilhjálmsson, “NATO Hefur Lýst Áhyggjum.”
63 Vilhjálmsson, “Önnur Ríki Hafa Áhyggjur.”
64 Ómarsdóttir, Pragmatic and Wary of Change (2021) and Leaning into Cooperation (2023).
65 Silver, Huang, and Clancy, “Negative Views of China.”
66 Bertelsen and Xing, “Chinese Arctic Science Diplomacy,” 448–49.
67 Mr. Skarphéðinsson served as Minister for Foreign Affairs 2009–2013.
68 Lanteigne, “Iceland’s ‘Small State’ Economic Diplomacy,” 70.
69 Tonami, Asian Foreign Policy, 21.
70 Ingimundarson, “Framing the National Interest”; Ingimundarson, “Iceland as an Arctic State.”
71 Svar Forsætisráðherra.
72 Svar Háskóla- Iðnaðar- og Nýsköpunarráðherra.
73 Bertelsen and Xing, “Chinese Arctic Science Diplomacy”; Su and Mayer, “Science Diplomacy and Trust Building.”
74 Almén and Hsiung, China’s Economic Influence, 27.
75 Ómarsdóttir, Pragmatic and Wary of Change and Leaning into Cooperation.
76 Ómarsdóttir, Leaning into Cooperation, 11.
77 Ómarsdóttir, Leaning into Cooperation, 21, 6.
78 Ómarsdóttir, Pragmatic and Wary of Change, 12.
79 See preface and pp. 6–9 in Tonami, Asian Foreign Policy.
80 Interview with scientist at the University of Iceland, 2022.
81 These plans are also confirmed in minister-level correspondence regarding CIAO in 2023. See Svar Háskóla-, Iðnaðar- og Nýsköpunarráðherra.
82 Thorhallsson and Grímsdóttir, “Lilliputian Encounters.”
83 See earlier references to the works of Tonami, Brady and Lanteigne.
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