Russia Pushes To Claim Arctic As Its Own

NPR ^ | August 16, 2011 | David Greene

[americanophile]

Four years ago, Russian researchers made a bold, if unseen, move. From a submarine, deep beneath the icy waters of the North Pole, they planted a Russian flag on the ocean floor.

Russia has the world's longest Arctic border, which stretches more than 10,000 miles. And for Russia, that 2007 research mission was only the beginning of a major drive to claim ownership of vast portions of the Arctic, as well as the oil and gas deposits that are beneath.

At present, Russia has some islands in the Arctic Ocean. But aside from that, the country's northern border effectively ends where the Arctic Ocean begins.

Yet the Russian government is now making the argument that its border should be extended northward. The government says that hidden under the Arctic's icy waters is a mountain range, the Lomonosov Ridge, which goes all the way to the North Pole. They say this shows that Russia continues north below sea level, and the country has scientists in the Arctic Ocean now, collecting evidence for the claim.

On a recent visit, a speedboat raced up the Pechora River in one small part of the vast region. The river cuts through hundreds of miles of empty green and sandy tundra and empties into the Arctic Ocean.

[americanophile]

I know it’s been an issue for a while. The truth of the matter is that no one truly owns the artic seabed, as with the world’s other major seas and oceans outside territorial waters. If we want to extend the exclusive economic zones, then it only makes sense to apportion them in pie-shaped size according to each nation’s coastal frontage. Russia’s claim is preposterous. Canada, and for that matter Denmark, certainly have stronger immediate territorial claims because of landmasses like Ellesmere and Greenland, though I wouldn’t be especially supportive of any nation’s claim to the seabed multiple hundreds of miles from the nearest landmass.

[americanophile]

I know it’s been an issue for a while. The truth of the matter is that no one truly owns the artic seabed, as with the world’s other major seas and oceans outside territorial waters. If we want to extend the exclusive economic zones, then it only makes sense to apportion them in pie-shaped size according to each nation’s coastal frontage. Russia’s claim is preposterous. Canada, and for that matter Denmark, certainly have stronger immediate territorial claims because of landmasses like Ellesmere and Greenland, though I wouldn’t be especially supportive of any nation’s claim to the seabed multiple hundreds of miles from the nearest landmass.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

for Russia, that 2007 research mission was only the beginning of a major drive to claim ownership of vast portions of the Arctic, as well as the oil and gas deposits that are beneath.