Posted on 08/21/2005 6:42:08 PM PDT by aculeus
Canadian warships were sailing towards the Arctic yesterday in the latest act of gunboat diplomacy over control of the frozen wastes there.
Ottawa has launched a series of Arctic sovereignty patrols to assert its territorial claims and fend off rivals, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States. Map of disputed area
Its scramble for the Arctic is a consequence of global warming and the retreat of the polar ice. This has raised the prospect of once-inaccessible areas becoming available for oil and mineral extraction. It has also revived the dream of a "North-West Passage" for shipping, linking the Atlantic and Pacific.
Amid diplomatic arguments over territorial rights, Canada's defence minister recently clambered on to a frozen rock, tiny Hans Island, triggering protests from Denmark.
The Canadian programme hit high gear yesterday as the frigate Fredricton sailed towards the contested Davis Strait separating Greenland and north-east Canada. Two coastal defence vessels, meanwhile, have visited the port of Churchill for the first time in 30 years and have set sail for the upper Hudson Bay.
"This is a demonstration of Canada's will to exercise sovereignty over our own back yard," said Cdre Bob Blakely, of the Royal Canadian Navy.
"The sea is a highway that's open to everyone. We will allow everybody passage as long as they ask for our consent and comply with our rules: 'use our resources wisely and don't pollute the fragile northern ecosystem'. "
The renewed Canadian military presence has made other Arctic claimants sit up.
Canada and the US are at odds over control of the North-West Passage and the resource-rich Beaufort Sea, while Canada and Russia both claim overlapping parts of the Arctic continental shelf.
Denmark, which rules Greenland, was angered by the unheralded arrival of Canada's defence minister, Bill Graham, on disputed Hans Island last month.
He stayed for a short while, examining a new Maple Leaf flag planted by Canadian servicemen there, and an old flag left by a Danish naval party three years earlier.
Denmark dispatched the naval cutter Tulugaq and threatened to land more men. However, as tensions rose, the two Nato allies had second thoughts, and the rival claimants agreed to discuss the dispute at the United Nations next month.
Critics of the Canadian policy argue that if the government is serious about pursuing a robust "northern strategy" it will have to start investing.
A C$700 million (£322 million) road to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Sea has been proposed, but the money has not yet been pledged.
The military, meanwhile, is not ideally equipped for the brutal conditions of the far north. Although it is expanding its Arctic command base at Yellowknife, the navy lacks sufficient capacity to plough through the pack ice.
Critics say that this explains why the Canadian authorities have chosen the summer months to undertake their sovereignty patrols.
A military exercise in the Arctic last year was termed an "embarrassing debacle" by the Toronto Star newspaper because of harsh weather and poor equipment.
Canada has a navy?
At the end of WWII, Canada had the 4th largest navy. Today, I don't think that they have a ship larger than a frigate. So the answer is....sort of.
If a shot is fired they will come running to the UN.
Or maybe call on their French buddies..... what a major help those brave souls would be!!!
The Danes were shut out of the North Sea oil (they blame a drunk Danish minister for agreeing to an unfair line) so they are determined not to let it happen again.
Gee. Be careful, Canada. You could poke your eye out with one of those. Someone could get hurt.
(where's that picture of the 50 caliber mounted on a plastic paddle boat?)
(steely)
The Canadian Navy has 18 ships, and some of them can even defend themselves!
God, I love that pic. I used to have it but it went away.
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!
Just what the HELL are they going to do about it? Write a stern letter to the UN? Ohh, we're shaking! LMAO!
Well, yes. Canada has a navy. Its most significant component (beyond a miniature coast guard) consists of a telephone to call President Bush and squawk, "Send the US Navy!"
what is the name of this ship. Look very nice.
LOL
Ma Deuce is always impressive.
Thanks for the post
HMCS IROQUOIS, but i don't know what Class she's in.
Um...isn't that red stripe sort of like the US coast guard?
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