Posted on 08/18/2008 7:43:12 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Unexpected partnerships are forming among nations vying to extend their Arctic undersea territories as they join to counter Russia's aggressive Arctic claims.
A United States coastguard icebreaker left port in Alaska last week to join a Canadian icebreaker to conduct a seismic survey of the Beaufort seabed north of the Yukon-Alaska border.
Both countries are gathering research to support their claim to Arctic territories that may hold vast natural resources and potential new shipping routes.
Canada and the US say a past land dispute over 12,000 sq km of seabed elsewhere in the Beaufort Sea is being put aside in the name of defending against Russia's Arctic claims, which clash with those of the US, Canada, Denmark and Norway.
"The Russians know what they want the Arctic for, and under Putin and Medvedev they have been very aggressive," said Rob Huebert, associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. "They are way ahead of everyone else."
The issue of who owns the North Pole was a backburner issue while the region was encased in ice.
But warmer temperatures suggest the region, which may hold up to one-quarter of the world's remaining oil and gas reserves, could soon be put into play as thinning ice makes it accessible.
This month, Canadian and Danish scientists claimed the Lomonosov Ridge under the North Pole was connected to the North American and Greenland plates.
The two countries may disagree on where to divide the ridge among themselves, but they agree it is not an extension of the Russian continental shelf.
Countries are allowed to extend their control of the seabed beyond customary limits if they can demonstrate that it is part of their continental shelf.
Moscow first claimed the Lomonosov Ridge in 2001 and reasserted that last year when a Russian submarine planted a Russian flag in the seabed under the North Pole.
The US position on the Arctic is tricky because
Congress has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which will ultimately govern the claims. But US officials are moving forward in the hope it is ratified before the UN deadline for territorial claims in 2013.
This month, Michael Chertoff, homeland security secretary, toured the American coastguard's operations in Alaska. In a radio interview before the tour, Thad Allen, coastguard commandant admiral, said increased interest in the Arctic might force the US to change tack.
"This will deal with more issues of sovereignty, security presence and things like that," he said. "The question is: What do we want to project up here?"
Ping.
Ugh....
“Congress has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which will ultimately govern the claims. But US officials are moving forward in the hope it is ratified before the UN deadline for territorial claims in 2013.”
Ratifying the UN Law of the Sea will only give away US sovereignty. We shouldn’t ratify it.
What we claim is ours, period. And like every other issue of international law, our claim is (only) as valid as our ability to defend it (with force).
Countries are allowed to extend their control of the seabed beyond customary limits if they can demonstrate that it is part of their continental shelf.
This is Russia's claim.
Why shoot the seismic data? The Democrats would sooner the Russians have Alaska’s offshore oil than let Americans get it.
“The US position on the Arctic is tricky because Congress has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which will ultimately govern the claims”
What the heck kind of logic is this!
It only governs our claims if we ratify it!
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Not only should we refuse to sign (or honor) LOST, I’d suggest we adopt what I will cheerfully call the Georgia Doctrine to any further dealings with Russia, particularly this oil/land grab.
Since Russia has demonstrated a total lack of regard for law, they will have to forgo the law’s protection. We will claim the land involved and hold it by force if that becomes necessary. Trespassers will not be tolerated, and if Russia wants to test that tolerance, she should not send anything there that she wants to get back.
The cost of Georgia continues to mount.
But wait! Everybody else is doing it. Sure, the UN and other fine international bodies may have the final word and countries like Russia will abide by it merely when it suits them, but it’s paper, so that makes it worth something.
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