The Audacity of Certainty

"It is ironic that the only country that right now could be said to be acting provocatively in the Arctic is Denmark."
"It doesn't exercise self-restraint. ... A lot of people are surprised they went for the whole enchilada."
"Everyone's going for everything they can at this stage. The area that's under dispute has grown very large."
Michel Byers, Vancouver academic, author of Who Owns the Arctic?

"I don't think the Russians or the Danes, once it came up to the political leadership, ever really intended to do that [divide the Arctic Ocean with geological data].
Rob Huebert, University of Calgary, Centre for Military and Strategic Studies

A Canadian Navy Zodiac races across the Arctic Ocean on patrol at the southern tip of Baffin Island, Canada, on August 09, 2007 (AFP Photo/Michel Comte)

Strange, Dr. Huebert's suggestion that Moscow had no intention of claiming sovereignty over part of the Arctic that Denmark now does with an air of self-indulgent certainty, since Denmark's geological claim with respect to the Lomonosov Ridge, that underwater mountain range, is precisely the geological feature that Moscow has used in its claims, disputing Canada's long-time claims of a vast ownership area.

Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "Yamal" photographed in the Arctic Ocean. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Still, that said, and the impudent planting of a platinum Russian flag by a submarine on the Arctic ocean floor aside, the five traditional aspirants to ownership division of the Arctic with its vast treasury of natural resources in minerals and fossil fuels: Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark and Norway seemed prepared for a contested, but somewhat equal division.

Until Denmark landed the United Nations with its claim to roughly one third of the total, and throwing in the North Pole for good measure. Denmark has relied on a $64-million investment in scientific research (part of which was co-jointly carried out with Canada) to support its claim that the Lomonosov Ridge is a geological extension of Greenland. Moscow must be wincing.

The Danes now claim an 895,000-square kilometre piece of the Arctic Ocean; their 'share' right at the edge of Russian geography. Thousands of hectares of resource-rich sea floor once claimed by Russia is now claimed with aplomb by tiny Denmark. In that area an estimated 13 percent of the world's total in undiscovered oil and 30 percent of untapped gas is held to exist, ripe for exploitation.

Dr. Byers is of the firm opinion that it won't take long for Russia, staggering under the weight of its recent misfortunes and its shrinking economy, to file a counter-suit for the very same territory. Canada's claim to areas considered international, although traditionally viewed by Canada as theirs, is not yet completed, but the government is planning a claim for 1.2-million square kilometres of ocean. North Pole included.

The UN panel has been tasked with deciding where control of the area should be officially assigned, with the use of scientific data filed by covetous, contesting countries to arrive at their final decisions. That is a process that Dr. Byers feels will take up to 20 years before the boundaries in the Arctic reach final disposition.

"All governments with potential claims are doing precisely what their citizens would expect and demand from them: making the strongest possible case to advance the national cause."
"Denmark is doing precisely what Canada and Russia are doing."
Ken Coates, director, International Centre for Northern Governance and Development, Saskatchewan

Who Owns The Arctic? What is a Debris Flow? What Causes a Tsunami? Mineral Rights

The United Nations sought to bring order and equity to the diversity of claims being made by nations around the world. In 1982 a United Nations treaty known as "The Law of the Sea" was presented. It addressed navigational rights, territorial waters limits, exclusive economic zones, fishing, pollution, drilling, mining, conservation and many other aspects of maritime activity. With over 150 nations participating it was the first attempt by the international community to establish a formal agreement on how the seas can be used. It also proposes a logical allocation of ocean resources.