CANADA: RUSSIA has staked a claim for the Arctic Ocean — including the North Pole — saying the disputed region is part of the country’s “continental character.”
Submitting their claim for 1.2 million sq km of disputed territory to the United Nations, they are likely to face opposition from Denmark (via Greenland), Canada, Norway and the US (via Alaska).
The area in question is thought to contain large untapped reserves of oil and gas as well as precious gems and minerals such as gold and nickel.
In a statement, Russian officials said tectonic plate maps showed the “outer borders of the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean are based on the scientific understanding that the central Arctic underwater ridges have a continental character”.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows coastal countries to extend their jurisdiction beyond 200 nautical miles (370km) as long as it can prove the boundary is a natural extension.
Russia believes they now have that proof, and they want the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UN CLCS) to apply, confirming their claim.
For decades Russia has been trying to lay claim to the Arctic and has always maintained a presence in the region building manned drifting stations since the late 1930s.
In 2001 it submitted its first claim for the Arctic to the UN CLCS but was told the following year the commission would consider it’s submission.
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