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The Cold War in the North Pole
Canada.com, Canada
Global warming or not, the Arctic Ocean is heating up toward another Cold War.
The region at the top of the world is the subject of overlapping land claims. But these matters fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nation's Law of the Sea Convention which most nations, except the United States, have signed. The Law sets out property rights, offshore rights and a dispute settlement mechanism.
Conflicting claims are a given since every country is entitled to a 200-mile offshore ownership limit or more if its continental shelf reaches further. The five claimants bordering the ocean are: Russia; Alaska; Canada; Denmark/Greenland and Norway. Others making claims, which also have land or 200-mile extensions within the Arctic Circle, are Sweden, Iceland and Finland.
Enter Moscow
This summer, the Russians claimed most of the ocean area, planting a flag well inside Canadian offshore territory. They announced that their Siberian continental shelf extends over most of the Arctic Ocean area. And last week, Russia announced it will stake this claim formally at the UN.
The estimates are that 9 billion barrels of oil exist here plus natural gas, metals and minerals. Also at stake is the rights to control the Northwest Passage, currently claimed by Canada and subject to Canadian environmental laws.
Under the United Nations Law of the Sea treaty, any state with an Arctic coastline that wishes to stake a claim to a greater share of the Arctic must lodge its submission with the U.N.'s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Russia lodged a claim with the UN commission in 2001. the UN responded a year later by recommending Russia make a revised submission with additional research. This summer, Moscow said it had evidence its continental shelf includes the entire region and planted its flag.
Now the UN must decide if its "evidence" is valid.
This Was Russia's Summer Flag Plant:
Canada Clenches Its Tiny Fist
Ottawa's response was to announce some developments in the north, including a research station in the Arctic offshore.
It was a quinessential Canadian response: Rely on the United Nations and American military power in order to protect your property, then hand out government grants.
Ottawa's swift, moneyed reaction was about as big a "stick" as a fly swatter. At the end of the day it may take American muscle -- not Canadian or Scandinavian diplomatic efforts -- to sort out the aggressive Russian interlopers. And while they're at it, the Americans may just help themselves to some extra resource-rich offshore too.
Enter Washington
Moscow's submarine voyage and announcement finally got the United States off its backside when it comes to the Law of the Sea.
The Americans have refused to sign the United Nation Law of the Sea Convention because of a handful of isolationist Republicans who object that binding arbitration, as a dispute settlement mechanism, relinquishes sovereignty.
But on Friday November 2, the Senate's foreign relations committee unanimously passed a resolution urging the Senate to approve and sign the Law of the Sea immediately.
Once a signator, the Americans will have representation at the UN in order to evaluate Russia's so-called evidence.
Americans Urged to Get a Move On
Foreign Relations Committee Republican leader Dick Lugar told the committee: “The United States faces intensifying national security and economic costs if we continue to absent ourselves from the Law of the Sea. If we fail to ratify this treaty, we are allowing decisions that will affect our Navy, our ship operators, our off-shore industries, and other maritime interests to be made without U.S. representation. Our ability to claim exclusive right to the vast extended continental shelf will be seriously impeded. We will also be forced to rely on other nations to oppose excessive claims to Arctic territory by Russia and perhaps others.â€
Others includes Canada and the Scandinavians. Already there is a conflicting claim between the U.S. and Canada in the Beaufort Sea area where several billion barrels of oil and a treasure trove of natural gas has been discovered. A gas pipeline is in the offing -- something that the Canadian must finance in order to establish its sovereignty in the region.
But at the end of the day, the little players can only hope the two Cold War protagonists play by the multilateral rules. If not, they'll have to step aside and let the big dogs eat and fight. The combined military forces of the other six claimants are about the size of the police forces in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Cold War in the North Pole
Canada.com, Canada
Global warming or not, the Arctic Ocean is heating up toward another Cold War.
The region at the top of the world is the subject of overlapping land claims. But these matters fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nation's Law of the Sea Convention which most nations, except the United States, have signed. The Law sets out property rights, offshore rights and a dispute settlement mechanism.
Conflicting claims are a given since every country is entitled to a 200-mile offshore ownership limit or more if its continental shelf reaches further. The five claimants bordering the ocean are: Russia; Alaska; Canada; Denmark/Greenland and Norway. Others making claims, which also have land or 200-mile extensions within the Arctic Circle, are Sweden, Iceland and Finland.
Enter Moscow
This summer, the Russians claimed most of the ocean area, planting a flag well inside Canadian offshore territory. They announced that their Siberian continental shelf extends over most of the Arctic Ocean area. And last week, Russia announced it will stake this claim formally at the UN.
The estimates are that 9 billion barrels of oil exist here plus natural gas, metals and minerals. Also at stake is the rights to control the Northwest Passage, currently claimed by Canada and subject to Canadian environmental laws.
Under the United Nations Law of the Sea treaty, any state with an Arctic coastline that wishes to stake a claim to a greater share of the Arctic must lodge its submission with the U.N.'s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Russia lodged a claim with the UN commission in 2001. the UN responded a year later by recommending Russia make a revised submission with additional research. This summer, Moscow said it had evidence its continental shelf includes the entire region and planted its flag.
Now the UN must decide if its "evidence" is valid.
This Was Russia's Summer Flag Plant:
Canada Clenches Its Tiny Fist
Ottawa's response was to announce some developments in the north, including a research station in the Arctic offshore.
It was a quinessential Canadian response: Rely on the United Nations and American military power in order to protect your property, then hand out government grants.
Ottawa's swift, moneyed reaction was about as big a "stick" as a fly swatter. At the end of the day it may take American muscle -- not Canadian or Scandinavian diplomatic efforts -- to sort out the aggressive Russian interlopers. And while they're at it, the Americans may just help themselves to some extra resource-rich offshore too.
Enter Washington
Moscow's submarine voyage and announcement finally got the United States off its backside when it comes to the Law of the Sea.
The Americans have refused to sign the United Nation Law of the Sea Convention because of a handful of isolationist Republicans who object that binding arbitration, as a dispute settlement mechanism, relinquishes sovereignty.
But on Friday November 2, the Senate's foreign relations committee unanimously passed a resolution urging the Senate to approve and sign the Law of the Sea immediately.
Once a signator, the Americans will have representation at the UN in order to evaluate Russia's so-called evidence.
Americans Urged to Get a Move On
Foreign Relations Committee Republican leader Dick Lugar told the committee: “The United States faces intensifying national security and economic costs if we continue to absent ourselves from the Law of the Sea. If we fail to ratify this treaty, we are allowing decisions that will affect our Navy, our ship operators, our off-shore industries, and other maritime interests to be made without U.S. representation. Our ability to claim exclusive right to the vast extended continental shelf will be seriously impeded. We will also be forced to rely on other nations to oppose excessive claims to Arctic territory by Russia and perhaps others.â€
Others includes Canada and the Scandinavians. Already there is a conflicting claim between the U.S. and Canada in the Beaufort Sea area where several billion barrels of oil and a treasure trove of natural gas has been discovered. A gas pipeline is in the offing -- something that the Canadian must finance in order to establish its sovereignty in the region.
But at the end of the day, the little players can only hope the two Cold War protagonists play by the multilateral rules. If not, they'll have to step aside and let the big dogs eat and fight. The combined military forces of the other six claimants are about the size of the police forces in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.