Done

Seems the Russian expedition to the bottom of the Arctic at the North Pole has met with success. Nice work. I guess. A descent of 4,200m. after all is quite the feat. And now there sits that titanium Russian flag, on the seabed. Wonder what the aquatic life will think of that intruder?

The editorial cartoon of our local newspaper put it pretty nicely. The cartoon pictures the flag not on the sea floor but rather situated on the ice itself, over the pole. The caption reads: "No doubt, Russia's territorial claim on the North Pole will be challenged." And beside the flag there is a large white polar bear, lifting one of its hind legs and doing what challenged males will do.

It's not only that polar bear who feels a trifle umbraged over that challenge, however. It's Canada, the United States, Denmark and Norway, all of whom feel they have a claim over the billions of dollars in oil and gas deposits, along with vast mineral resources under the sea. All feel they too have a stake in subsurface rights.

After all, all five nations border on the area, and all five feel they have a valid claim. But for some, like Canada, the claim goes beyond that disputed area. What Russia has declared is that the Lomonsov Ridge which extends from continental Russia into the northern tip of Canada, gives it legitimacy of ownership of an area Canada has always claimed as its own.

Canada claims sovereignty over the continental shelf, extending 200 miles northward from Canada's Arctic archipelago. And of that area, it is not only the Russians but the Americans and Denmark as well, who would like to claim it to be international waters eventually ice-free and open to shipping and clear access by anyone. Russia's challenge is that of ownership due to the extended Ridge.

But listen up everyone. Canada's claim is historic and indomitable. Clear off.