key players in the Arctic Flashcards
(14 cards)
USA - future claims
They are only one of five with an Arctic border that has refused to ratify the Law of the Sea Convention and consequently is not participating in the UN process to determine maritime borders in the Arctic.
USA - main competitors
Canada - over Baffin Bay
Canada - future claims
The nation is preparing to include the north pole as part of its Arctic seabed claim. As for the North pole, Canada’s bold assertion is less about resources and more about political bravado
Canada - main competitors
US is the only country they may clash with, Canada continue to dispute the status of Hans Island.
Russia - background info
They are to renew their claim to a huge swathe of the Arctic in the hope to secure rights to billions of tonnes of oil and gas. In 2007, for the first time ever, a Russian expedition called Arkitka descended to the North pole seabed which aimed to establish the eastern section of the seabed known as the Lomonosov Ridge. Russia infuriated its rivals in 2007 by placing a rust-proof titanium flag on the floor ocean beneath the Arctic.
Russia - further claims
Russia believed its shelf is directly linked to the Lomonosov ridge, an underwater mountain crest that runs 1,240 miles across the polar region
Russia - main competitors
Canada also claims the Lomonosov ridge, Denmark thinks the ridge is part of Greenland.
Norway - background
There are arguments to extend the Norwegian seabed claim beyond the 200 nmi EEz in three areas of the north-eastern atlantic: the ‘loop hole’ in the Barents sea, the Western Nansen basin and the ‘banana hole’ in the Norwegian sea
Norway - main competitors
Had ratified an agreement with Russia over the Barents sea
Denmark - background info
Interest is derived from its autonomous territory - Greenland
Denmark - future claims
Denmark’s bid for 895,000 sq km of the Arctic ocean sounds audacious given that this is 20x larger than Denmark.
Denmark - main competitors
Russia, US, Canada, Norway
Who are the Indigenous people?
Saami in areas of Finland, Sweden and Russia.
Inuit in Canada and Greenland.
USA - background info
Has its Arctic territory through Alaska and is not a party to UNCLOS
