Arctic Council Expansion?

The Arctic Council is an organization of eight countries that include territory that borders the Arctic Ocean. Member countries of the Arctic Council include Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark (for Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland. However, countries that are interested in Arctic issues are allowed to join as observer states. Currently, there are six observer states: United Kingdom, France, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain.

However, as global warming melts the ice of the Arctic Ocean there is increased interest in the Northwest Passage for transportation and the Arctic for economic exploitation. Therefore, several new countries are interested in participating in the Arctic Council as observers. China, India, and Brazil are all interested in joining as observers. These three countries are three-quarters of the economic grouping known as BRIC (as Russia is already a full member of the Arctic Council. Japan and South Korea have also expressed an interested in participating as observers. The Arctic Council itself is weary of this potential rapid expansion of newly-interested countries.