The United States to buy Russian Islands?

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) Lieutenant Colonel Jeffery M. Fritz, writing for the Breaking Defense portal, presented a plan aimed at acquiring new territories for the United States. Lt. Col. Fritz’s original idea concerns Russia’s Commander Islands. Why would this chain of islands, located at the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, be of such importance to U.S. and global security?

Defend against China

According to the American officer, the potential purchase of Russian islands would offer the U.S. several significant advantages, primarily in terms of security. The United States would gain additional protection for Arctic sea routes and the ability to deploy further undersea surveillance technologies. Both arguments are particularly relevant in the context of a potential conflict between Washington and Beijing. As Fritz points out, the Commander Islands are located near a possible route from China’s Jianggezhuang naval base to the Arctic region.

“These islands represent one of the few viable chokepoints, in conjunction with the existing U.S. Aleutian Islands, where Americans could monitor, track, and deter submarine activity entering the Arctic basin” - the analysis states, noting that the Jianggezhuang base hosts, among others, Jin-class submarines capable of launching JL-3 ballistic missiles that could strike cities on the U.S. East Coast.

„If these submarines reached the Atlantic, the warning time before a launch could drop below 15 minutes, complicating U.S. response options” - the author calculates.

The arguments outlined above could stand on their own in light of the challenges the United States faces—and will continue to face - in its rivalry with China. At present, there is no indication that tensions in the Indo-Pacific will ease. Consequently, the struggle for influence in the Arctic region is becoming a necessity for global powers. We already had a foretaste of this competition for northern territories in the early months of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, when a heated debate erupted over whether Greenland could become a U.S. territory. While the topic has recently faded from public discourse, it was one of the key sparks that may have ignited a long-term debate over the role the Arctic will play in global security.

Arguments “For”

We know why the Americans might have a genuine interest in Russian-owned islands; the question remains whether such a purchase is theoretically possible. From a historical perspective, the answer is yes. The United States has purchased territory on several occasions, meaning this would not be an international precedent. One example is Louisiana, which in 1803 was bought from France for $15 million at the time. The purchase of nearly 830,000 square miles was not the only such case in U.S. history. More than 60 years later, the U.S. bought Alaska for the equivalent of about $142 million in today’s dollars. The most important detail here is that this purchase was made from… Russia.

Lt. Col. J. M. Fritz believes that his proposed purchase would also be feasible under international law. The transaction, he argues, would comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Furthermore, in the event of a purchase, there should be minimal issues with potential protests from local residents, as there are only about 700 inhabitants (in the case of much more populous Greenland, the problem would be greater - ed.).

„The islands could be incorporated into Alaska or designated as an unincorporated U.S. territory, similar to American Samoa or Guam, allowing for governance structures that prioritize the self-determination of indigenous residents” - the analysis reads.

According to Fritz, even Russia itself might be interested in a potential U.S. offer. In theory, receiving $15 billion (it is unclear why this specific figure appears in the U.S. officer’s calculations - ed.) for a small island seems like an offer worth considering, especially given the Kremlin’s severe financial troubles. So, is such a purchase realistic in the near future?

Low Probability

Given the above arguments, can we conclude that a purchase in the near term is truly realistic? Despite the heavily strained budget of the Russian Federation, the chances of a sale are currently negligible. As the author himself notes, at a time when Ukraine is defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion, the U.S. paying billions of dollars to the Kremlin would be seen as a betrayal - both to Kyiv and to NATO and European allies who are contributing vast sums to support Ukraine’s defense.

Another argument against the transaction is Russian national pride, which would certainly not allow for a repeat of the “mistake” of Alaska. The final, and perhaps most important, argument (not mentioned by the author) against selling the Commander Islands lies in Russian - and above all -Chinese national interests. Both countries have stakes in the region, and any strategic strengthening of a rival’s position would clearly be against their interests. In the current situation, it seems that even if Russia were to seriously consider a sale, Beijing would quickly and effectively dissuade them from the idea. Beijing, which might well express serious interest in the islands itself…