Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Arctic is the Great Game of the 21st Century

A map of the arctic including territorial claims, disputes and resources
"This isn't the 15th Century," Then Foreign Minister Peter MacKay stated, "You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory'," he said, however, in August 2007 that's exactly what happened when Russian explores planted their country's flag 4200 meters below the north pole on the arctic seabed. In my opinion this marked the beginning of new chapter in history; 'The Great Game in the Arctic' a race to stake a claim to a vast wideness and riches of the north.


The players involved are diverse and include, Canada, The United States of America, The Russian Federation, The People's Republic of China, Denmark and Norway. Traditional alliances are thrown by the wayside (NATO) and old rivalries have been rekindled. Any pretense of following international law was dropped when the Russian flag was planted and the scramble is on.



Russia's Claim to the north pole - a titanium flag
Russia made a dubious claim that the Siberian continental shelf extends to within 200 nautical miles off the north pole thus making it a part of Russian claimed territory, consistent with "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea". What happens though when this 200 nautical mile area overlaps other sovereign nations' 200 miles? Arguing, posturing and saber rattling start and Canada is involved in four separate territorial disputes in the arctic. Canada is in a precarious position for two reasons, Canada has a fairly weak territorial claim if disputes were to be arbitrated under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Canada ratified in 2003 and if the situation over came to open conflict Canada does not have the proper means to defend itself.

Unfortunately the Harper government scaled back plans to build naval vessels and instead opted for aircraft that do not work correctly in the arctic and military basses in Jamaica. Even the NDP's platform in the 2011 election campaign was more hawkish then the Conservative's committing to more naval forces for the northern region.

The Arctic question is certainly one that will shape the 21st century and if Canada wishes to maintain its sovereign rights it needs to start acting now or risk becoming the first casualty in a struggle to control the great north. If the world does not respect Canadian territorially claims, Canada could very easily become squeezed between two major powers struggling to control such areas. Although the training exercises currently being held in the North West Territories are a positive step, the Harper government needs to invest in the military intelligently and not go on reckless foreign adventures.

Guide to Canada's Arctic Territorial Disputes

Northwest Passage
In May 2011 Wikileaks released several secret diplomatic cables revealing that the US is concerned over Canada's claim to the Northwest passage and to "seabed resources that extend to the edge of the continental shelf". It is time for Canada to dig in.  Many other NATO countries do not recognize Canada's claim to the Northwest passage either which is outrageous. There is no dispute if you look at the above map, the Northwest passage belongs to Canada and every measure should be taken to protect it like Canada did during the Turbot Wars in the 90's.


Hans Island
Situated between Nunavut and Greenland both Denmark and Canada have a border that runs right through the island. Though it seems insignificant, Canada's claim to the Northwest passage and territorial integrity may be at stake. 


Beaufort Sea
Both the US and Canada claim a territory known to have large deposits of natural gas. Canada claims the Yukon border should extend into the sea and US believes the border should extend along an equidistant path from the coasts of the two nations. Both examples are displayed in the map above, the Canadian claim on the left of the hash marked triangle and the US claim on the right.


The Great Game In the Arctic - Timeline
Image source BBC and Wikipedia
Posted by at 5:01 PM

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