鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the 15th century,鈥� exclaimed an indignant Canadian foreign minister. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go around the world and just plant flags and say: 鈥榃e鈥檙e claiming this territory鈥�.鈥� Except that鈥檚 exactly what Russia did in August when it audaciously plonked a flag on the seabed under the North Pole, and lodged a claim of sovereignty with the United Nations.
Protestations apart, Canada has hardly been idle itself in the Arctic. In its own show of strength, in July it announced it would spend a hefty US$7 billion patrolling the Arctic Circle with icebreakers, and after Russia planted its flag, Canada announced plans for a military training base on Nunavut in its far north.
The dash to claim the 鈥淎rctic El Dorado鈥� is well and truly on, and the reasons why the race started in earnest in 2007 are twofold. First, the summer sea ice melted more than ever. This means the prospect of plundering the Arctic seabed for its riches of oil, gas and minerals is closer than ever. Similarly, the fabled became navigable for the first time, which could slash thousands of miles off the shipping route from Europe to Asia.
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The second reason is that claims to the Arctic shelf made under the must be made within a decade of ratifying it, so Russia only has until 2009, Canada until 2013, and Denmark until 2014.
As the ice melts, the Arctic squabbling continues. Denmark says it has a claim to the North Pole, via its self-governing province of Greenland. The Canadians say the pole is theirs, while Russia has already set down its flag. Funny how there鈥檚 less clamour to preserve the ice than there is to plunder the riches beneath it.
