A U.S. energy security expert has raised the prospects of Korea getting geopolitical benefits from its potential participation in an Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s drive for “reciprocity” with security allies and trading partners.
 
In a recent phone interview with Yonhap News Agency, Paul Saunders, the president of the Center for the National Interest, a U.S.-based think tank, noted that entry into the megaproject will underscore Seoul’s commitment to firming up its alliance with the United States, though uncertainty hangs over its economic benefits.
 
Although Korea, Japan and others have yet to decide whether to join, President Donald Trump told Congress this month that the countries want to partner with the United States on the project “with investments of trillions of dollars each” — a mention highlighting his hope to encourage their contributions.
 
The project, estimated at $44 billion, aims to build a 1,287-kilometer (800-mile) pipeline from the North Slope, a proven massive reserve of natural gas, to southern Alaska to transport natural gas that will be cooled to liquid for shipments to Asia. Trump’s interest in it came amid his push for America’s “energy dominance.”
 
“From a geopolitical perspective, I think the kind of perceived benefit would be … making a strong signal to the president, and to the administration, about Korea’s desire to consolidate and strengthen the alliance with the United States,” he said during the interview Wednesday.
 
“In addition to that, certainly, many would view it as an investment in energy security and an opportunity for Korea, or for others, to diversify away from the Middle East, or, in some cases, from Russia,” he added.
 
Saunders mentioned the geopolitical benefit as he pointed out Trump’s oft-repeated mantra of “reciprocity” in security and trade relations with U.S. allies and other countries.
 
“We’re looking at a historical period in which the Trump administration is looking increasingly toward U.S. alliance relationships, and looking for greater reciprocity, where the president, in particular, is expressing strong doubts about alliances, where he sees relationships that he believes lack sufficient reciprocity,” he said.
 
In light of Trump’s demand for “fair and reciprocal” trade, policymakers in Seoul have been weighing the option to expand LNG imports from the United States to help curtail its trade surplus with the country — an element that the Trump administration is expected to factor in to customize the level of “reciprocal” tariffs on Korea.
 
Last year, Korea’s trade surplus with the United States reached $55.7 billion.
 
Saunders said various factors will determine the economic viability of the pipeline project, including LNG prices and global demand.
 
“It’s also quite apparent, in the renewed consideration of the project, that the economic criteria may not be the only criteria,” he said.
 
“It’s for certainly the governments and companies involved to try to make a determination: What economic or commercial cost they’re prepared to pay for, what perceived geopolitical benefit.”
 
The Trump administration is hoping to see Korea and Japan not only invest in the costly project, but also become customers for Alaskan gas, Saunders noted.
 
But it is “clear” that Trump is looking to American companies to do a significant part of the pipeline construction work, he said. He also noted difficulties that foreign steel firms, which look to join the pipeline project, might face, including U.S. tariffs, which would privilege American competitors to some extent.
 
On the atomic energy cooperation front, Saunders gave a mixed view, noting the need for Seoul to maintain a “good” channel of communication with the Trump administration.
 
On a positive note, he cited the “ADVANCE Act,” a law that has opened up new opportunities for certain foreign companies in allied countries to invest in the U.S. nuclear sector and own reactor licenses.
 
“There have been some kinds of substantial changes and improvements in the environment for nuclear in the United States. From a political perspective, there’s increasingly bipartisan and broadly based support for nuclear,” he said. “This administration, in particular, certainly has expressed strong support for nuclear. So in a general sense, I think the environment is quite good.”
 
He also recalled a period of tensions between Korean and U.S. firms during Trump’s first term.
 
“I think the first Trump administration took kind of a dim view of Korean firms competing with the U.S. in markets that the administration saw as important to America,” he said. “So I think there can also be, again, a point of tension.”
 
 

Yonhap

There were plenty of apt adjectives for the Shaktoolik boys basketball team and its performance Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena.

“Fearless,” guard Seth Paniptchuk said.

“Confident,” Wolverines head coach Silas Paniptchuk said with a broad smile.

After the Wolverines’ 76-55 dismantling of Cook Inlet Academy, guard Chase Katchatag may have found the perfect descriptor.

“Historic,” he said.

With the victory in the Alaska 1A state title game, Shaktoolik earned its first boys basketball title in school history.

The Wolverines did so with a combination of energy, enthusiasm and skill, jumping out to a 23-13 lead after one quarter and refusing to take a foot off the accelerator.

“It’s become the standard for this group,” Silas Paniptchuk said. “You know, they get so hyped up for basketball. You put them out there on the court with a ball, they just want to go get it. It’s definitely fun to watch.”

The crowd roared its approval as the Shaktoolik players raced up and down the court, scoring in all manners and using an opportunistic defensive approach.

A solid second quarter by Cook Inlet Academy left the Shaktoolik lead at 41-33 at half.

Cook Inlet Academy’s Alek McGarry had a standout first half to keep the Eagles close. He was 8 of 10 from the floor and finished with 22 first-half points. McGarry led all scorers with 31 total points. His brother Ian McGarry added 16.

“We just had to stay pumped up and keep the momentum,” Seth Paniptchuk said. “The McGarry brothers are great players, so we just had to stay in it and try to contain them.”

And while Cook Inlet Academy crept closer in the third quarter, Shaktoolik simply could not be denied.

They maintained a double-figure lead after three quarters and ran away with the game in the fourth.

The two teams played twice during the regular season with Shaktoolik winning both games.

“Every time we played them, we wanted to apply a lot of pressure with our full-court press,” Silas Paniptchuk said. “That was kind of the same game plan today … The boys are really good at it.”

The Wolverines challenged shots and passing lanes all game, finishing with 22 combined blocks and steals.

Chase Katchatag finished with 22 points, while Seth Paniptchuk added 20. Ryan Evan added 16 for the Wolverines.

“I’m just proud of them,” Silas Paniptchuk said. “You know, they come to practice from day one. They come to practice at Christmas. They come to practice on weekends, if we have them. I’m just ever so proud that, you know, they take the time to commit to what we’re trying to accomplish here. And it paid off.”

With just eight players, the Shaktoolik bench was short, but a number of them are also cross-country athletes.

“I love these boys,” Seth Paniptchuk said. “They always they get up for practice every day and they’re fearless. I love playing with them.”

As state-level Republicans in Alaska work to affirm their close relationship with Canada amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats of annexation, an Alaskan senator has warned British Columbia’s premier that “you don’t want to mess with Alaska.”

Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan of the Republican Party made the remarks in an interview with an Anchorage radio station posted to his Facebook page.

During the conversation, which touched on topics ranging from energy development to Ukraine, Sullivan, one of two senators who represent the state in Washington, was asked about B.C. introducing legislation that grants the province the ability to levy new fees on U.S. commercial trucks heading to Alaska.

“I don’t know the premiers of the different provinces but it is a bit of a dangerous game,” Sullivan said before launching into his desire to repeal, either through the senate or by executive order from Trump, the Passenger Vessel Services Act. 

Under the act, foreign-built ships are not allowed to carry passengers between two U.S. ports without a stopover in a foreign country. The law is meant to protect U.S. shipping interests, much the same as the Jones Act which applies the same rules to cargo ships.

Many Alaska-bound cruise ships stop in B.C. — primarily Vancouver but also Nanaimo, Victoria and Prince Rupert — bringing in significant tourism revenue to the province’s economy.

Sullivan says he would like to see that rule repealed, noting it was done when COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

“Canada, you don’t want to mess with Alaska. And if you do, we are going to work hard on having our cruise ships bypass your ports, and that will help our economy tremendously,” Sullivan said. “They’re playing a dangerous game here, and I hope they back down.”

‘We can’t imagine Alaska without Canada’

B.C. Premier David Eby said he had no current plans to enact tolls but he wants the ability to do so should Trump escalate his actions against Canada.

“This is not something that we would do lightly,” he told reporters Friday. “We know the consequences for Alaskans are a big deal. We would expect them to respond in kind. Trade wars only hurt people.”

He hopes Alaskans worried about the fallout of a trade war will speak up.

“We need Alaskans to send a message to Donald Trump about how intertwined we are, about the connections between our economies,” he said.

That message was heard in Alaska’s state capitol building on Friday afternoon when Republican Rep. Chuck Kopp tabled a House Joint Resolution, Recognizing and honoring the relationship between Canada and Alaska, which he described as “an unqualified affirmation of the strong bonds of friendship, shared history, mutual defence and support that have bound our state to Canada over centuries.”

An almost identical Senate Joint Resolution is also moving through Alaska’s senate, sponsored by Republican Cathy Giessel, who has also spoken out against the trade war.

“The friendship, trust and affection that we hold for our Canadian neighbours extends to their identity as citizens of the sovereign nation of Canada,” Kopp said at Friday’s meeting, gesturing to a map of the two countries. “We can’t imagine Alaska without Canada.”

Kopp and several other speakers highlighted the joint effort to build the Alaska Highway from northern B.C. to Alaska during the Second World War, as well as the number of families and friendships that span both sides of the border.

Also invited to speak was Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai, the president of the Arctic Winter Games and several members of the border community of Skagway, Alaska. 

Skagway Vice-Mayor Deb Potter called on politicians to “think of Alaskans over your party,” and encouraged them to affirm the resolution, which is still moving through the house.

Kopp said he hoped the messages coming from Alaskans would be heard by the powers that be elsewhere in the United States.

“The temperature is rising between the countries based on economic reasons,” he said. “This resolution recognizes that relationships matter and are far more important than maybe the almighty dollar at times.”