41. On Thin Ice: Water Rights and Resource Disputes in the Artic Ocean
- Author:
- Vsevolod Gunitskiy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- In August 2007, a Russian submarine surprised the world by planting the country's flag on the Arctic seabed, almost 14,000 feet below the North Pole. The titanium tricolor was the culmination of a scientific mission to demonstrate Russia's claim to a vast, potentially resource-rich region along its northern coast. Recent geological surveys suggest the Arctic may hold up to a quarter of the world's remaining oil and gas reserves. Predictably, other circumpolar powers criticized the Russian voyage. “This isn't the 15th century,” said Canadian foreign minister Peter MacKay. “You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory.'”
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, and Canada