Superpowers: Arctic

Question 1

how have tensions arisen over the Arctic?

Answer 1

In 2007, a Russian submarine sailed beneath the North Pole and planted a titanium Russian flag on the seabed- staking a claim to ownership of resources there

Canada carries out military exercises in the Arctic

Russia carries out Arctic bomber patrols

Denmark is creating an Arctic military command and response force

Norway has expanded its navy to become a stronger military power in the Arctic

Question 2

what are the key players in the Arctic dispute?

Answer 2

Russia
US
Canada
Denmark
Norway
Iceland

Question 3

Resources

Answer 3

Political and military tension due to increasingly accessible mineral wealth beneath the Arctic.

Drilling for oil and gas is increasingly possible further into the Arctic. The USGS estimates that the Arctic contains one-eighth of the world’s untapped oil and a quarter of its gas.

Drilling in the Arctic is expensive and needs high global oil and gas prices to be profitable

Question 4

Transport routes

Answer 4

Climate change is thawing more of the Artic Ocean each summer which allows shipping to travel ‘over the top of the world’ via the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage.

These routes are considerably shorter, reducing transport time and costs, as well as emissions

Question 5

what is the EEZ?

Answer 5

a country can control the seabed and its resources within 200 nautical miles of its coastline