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Posts tagged as “China”

ALARM ABOUT ADVISORIES ACQUIRING AUSTRE ADVENTFJORD (AGAIN): Russia and China (still) interested in coal-rich land near Longyearbyen, attorney tells Norway (and media)austreadventfjord

ALARM ABOUT ADVISORIES ACQUIRING AUSTRE ADVENTFJORD (AGAIN): Russia and China (still) interested in coal-rich land near Longyearbyen, attorney tells Norway (and media)

By Mark Sabbatini on December 16, 2020
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Read Time:3 Minute, 58 Second

This may sound familiar: Russian and Chinese companies are among those interesting in buying the coal mining rights to a large tract of land near Longyearbyen, an attorney representing the holder of those rights is telling Norway’s government and media.

Unsurprisingly, headlines appear nationwide Wednesday about the prospect of a major advisory gaining a potentially large economic/political foothold in Svalbard after it was first reported by NRK. But the coverage also noted the issue has surfaced repeatedly beginning in 2014 when the family-owned company that owned the land announced it planned to sell it – and how that ended up being what many called essentially a “ransom demand” to pressure Norway’s government into paying a heightened price to buy the land.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
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CHINA BUYING HURTIGRUTEN – LEGIT POSSIBILITY OR NOT? A columnist set off a media firestorm by declaring it a ‘realistic scenario,’ but is it just idle clickbait speculation?hurtigrutennorthernlights

CHINA BUYING HURTIGRUTEN – LEGIT POSSIBILITY OR NOT? A columnist set off a media firestorm by declaring it a ‘realistic scenario,’ but is it just idle clickbait speculation?

By Mark Sabbatini on October 5, 2020
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Read Time:8 Minute, 7 Second

An analyst snagged national headlines Thursday by suggesting China might buy Hurtigruten in the wake of the company’s COVID-19 scandal in an effort to further the country’s goal of establishing a major presence in Svalbard. Such a presence, along with that of countries like Russia, has for years been among Norway’s top security worries – but is the columnist offering a legitimate scenario or merely clickbait?

On one hand, we’ve been here before with China and large purchases in recent years, and it ended up being it ended up being something of a joke. On the other, another author who’s a foremost expert on Svalbard and Arctic conflicts declares “Hurtigruten will be sold, sooner or later” – although he suggests Russia might be the country more ideally suited to make a Svalbard power play.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
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Go USA…but go away China? Opposing reactions to two large-scale foreign investments in Svalbardnewdock

Go USA…but go away China? Opposing reactions to two large-scale foreign investments in Svalbard

By Mark Sabbatini on July 1, 2015
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Read Time:2 Minute, 51 Second

They’re both huge potential investments in Svalbard by foreign entities. One is being hailed as a key element of Longyearbyen’s post-mining future. The other is seen as undesirable and a possible threat.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
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