It was good to hear President Obama, during his visit to Alaska, recognize that in order for the United States to step up its game in a rapidly changing Arctic region, more funding support will be necessary to support the Coast Guard.

That Congress must do a better job of supporting the Coast Guard’s mission, particularly when it comes to patrolling the growing open waters of a melting northern ice cap, comes as no surprise to readers of The Day.

In a March 29 guest commentary, Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who has taught at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, and Maureen Smolskis of the Center for American Progress made the case that inadequate funding is “crippling the Coast Guard’s readiness and undermining national security.” Ms. Smolskis is a Connecticut College graduate.

With Russia intent on exploiting changes that are opening new shipping lanes and access to natural resources across what were once permanently frozen areas, the United States cannot afford to sit by passively. Russia has 41 icebreaking vessels with plans for 11 more. It is also expanding its military footprint in the Arctic region.

During his Alaskan trip, the U.S. president announced he would ask Congress to commit to building several Coast Guard icebreakers. It is a commitment whoever succeeds President Obama will need to follow through on.

According to the administration, the Coast Guard has only two functional heavy icebreakers, and those are several decades old. It is outrageous that things have gotten to this point and several administrations share the blame. Of course, icebreakers are but one example. As Mr. Korb and Ms. Smolskis noted in their guest commentary, the “average age of a Coast Guard cutter is 46 years, compared to just 22 years for Navy surface combat ships.”

The president also announced an initiative by the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to map and chart a changed, open-water Bering Sea. Robert J. Papp Jr., a retired admiral and former commandant of the Coast Guard, is the State Department’s senior envoy on Arctic issues.

The United States needs to seek international agreements to control activity in the Arctic and prevent actions that damage polar ecosystems or accelerate climate change. However, effective diplomacy will require the U.S. to have a presence in the region and the Coast Guard plays a critical role.