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posted by janrinok on Wednesday August 05 2015, @07:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-mine,-mine,-I-tell-you! dept.

Russia pressed a claim at the United Nations Tuesday for an additional 1.2 million square kilometres (463,000 square miles) of Arctic shelf, stepping up a race for the region's hydrocarbon and mineral wealth.

In a submission to back a 2001 claim at the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Russia said research showed it had rights over the swathe—an area the size of South Africa.

This would include the North Pole and potentially give Russia access to an estimated 4.9 billion tonnes of hydrocarbons, according to government estimates. The Arctic has become a theatre for rival claims over a sea floor believed to be rich in minerals, oil and gas. Under international law, a country has exclusive economic rights over the continental shelf within a 200-nautical-mile (370-kilometre) radius from its coast. However Arctic nations have been jostling to claim greater areas. They have been spurred by the shrinkage of Arctic sea ice, which opens up the potential for new transport routes and mineral and energy exploitation.

Russia says extensive research spanning several years proves its continental shelf extends far beyond the 200-nautical-mile radius.

Its claim includes the Mendeleev Rise as well as the Lomonosov Ridge, which Denmark and Canada also say is theirs. Russia argues they, like the North Pole, are part of the Eurasian continent. Russia previously submitted a claim to the UN commission in 2001 but was told it lacked supporting scientific data. The commission returned the document—which was mostly based on Soviet-era studies—with over 160 recommendations, said Viktor Poselov, a deputy director of research at the VNII Okeangeologia Institute in Saint Petersburg, which worked on both the initial and updated claim. Over the last decade, nine expeditions, each costing up to a billion rubles ($16 million, 14.6 million euros), ventured into the Arctic to collect seismic data and map the ocean floor over tens of thousands of kilometres, he said.

If the new proposal is accepted by the UN commission, Russia would not only gain the right to the mineral deposits but also have an argument in favour of expanding its frontiers, Poselov told AFP.

"We would set a border that would limit other states from accessing this area," he said.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @08:54PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2015, @08:54PM (#218769)

    I think somehow Putin and Iran managed to piss off the Saudis.

    They need the oil to flow. They need money.

    The speculation currently remains to be seen if Russia can hold onto what it has now and not internally fracture. They are bullying small nations on its border. But Canada and China are a bit more formidable on opposite sides. I dont see Denmark doing much other than bitching about it.

    I would be surprised if it got past the other y/n veto voting members of the UN. Particularly the US.

  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday August 05 2015, @10:08PM

    by looorg (578) on Wednesday August 05 2015, @10:08PM (#218807)

    The Cold War never really ended, it just went on defrost for a decade or two.

    But as noted this just isn't going to fly with either Denmark, Norway or Canada. Alone they might not amount to much besides bitching and name calling. But since they are all members of NATO I do believe it puts it in another perspective. They never going to allow the Russians to militarize the north pole or the arctic.

    This is more pointless paperwork for the UN administration.

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by bob_super on Wednesday August 05 2015, @11:08PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday August 05 2015, @11:08PM (#218832)

      > They never going to allow the Russians to militarize the north pole or the arctic.

      You may want to check a map of Russian military installations.
      Short of building stuff on ice, there isn't anywhere strategic that isn't built and would be under the new claim. This is purely about northern routes control and what lies underwater.