Canada joins rush to claim the Arctic

Canada joins rush to claim the Arctic

www.ft.com

Canada raised the stakes in the battle to claim ownership of the Arctic by sending Stephen Harper, prime minister, on a three-day trek to the region, just days after the Russians planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole.

The US, Norway and Denmark are also competing alongside Russia and Canada to secure rights to the natural resources of the Arctic.

(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 9-8-2007 by UM_Gazz]

Sounds to me like the Russians got what they wanted already.
After stealing Bushes watch in Albania (do you believe he really got it back?) and passing out phoney money in Bushes home town, no body got the message. its about time Canadians did something. I guess they sent somebody with an MBA over their to plant the flag..I bet the Russians are really quaking in their boots with that. Maybe Bush can go and hold hands in a show of solidarity with Canada.

www.ft.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

You need to change the thread title.

It's the Arctic, which is the ice covered area of the Northern Pole.

The Antarctic is the area that makes up Antarctica, which is the continent and ice
covered area of the South Pole.



Now, as to the story, I'm not surprised, and I have to say it's good to see Canada
being active like this.

There have been, in the last 30 years small friendly disputes between America and
Canada regarding the Arctic, which either end up deadlocked with neither side agreeing
or a middle-ground found.


It would be so much simpler if the Arctic had the same U.N. treaty as the Antarctic,
but since many countries have territory in the Arctic that would'nt work.

About high time Canada showed some muscle, rather than lettin its counterpart across the border to show some muscle for them. Yall think this is gonna escalate. No doubt there are oil/gas reserves around that area. Will this turn into a conflict maybe.

Wow! What if the U.S. ends up going to war with Canada over that chunk of the North Pole that's above them!

Does anyone have any information on this? It seems logical that it belongs to Canada doesn't it?

Originally posted by Palasheea
Wow! What if the U.S. ends up going to war with Canada over that chunk of the North Pole that's above them!

I doubt we'd go to war with Canada, we're both major nations, share a massive border
and besides that we'll most likely come to some sort of agreement over how everything is split up.

Does anyone have any information on this? It seems logical that it belongs to Canada doesn't it?

Well parts of the arctic belong to several different nations, America, Canada,
Russia, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.

However there are parts of the arctic that are technically international waters as well,
so it can be confusing.

I can't see how any country, including Canada would want to split up territory with the US that's probably rightfully theirs (Canada). Especially if it's got all that gas and oil on it. And why would the US think that they even have a right to haggle with them about it?

But if some sort of agreement is made on who gets the goods or if it's split down the middle, then this confirms my suspicion that Canada is just another US territory and not really a separate country as it claims to be.

Originally posted by Palasheea
I can't see how any country, including Canada would want to split up territory with the US that's probably rightfully theirs (Canada). Especially if it's got all that gas and oil on it. And why would the US think that they even have a right to haggle with them about it?

Well it's like I said, no one country owns the arctic, Canada owns the part there land
is in (and any land extensions claims they pass through the UN) just as the other
countries do, the U.S. owns part of the arctic via Alaska.

What I meant was the unclaimed land in the North American quadrant of the Arctic
is what America and Canada will come together on in terms of splitting it up.

I smell an election issue. Has Canada ordered icebreakers? Yes. Where will they be stationed? No where near the Arctic.

Foreign Affairs guy Peter "I have women problems" McKay has said a few words on the subject that sound to have come direct from the Privy Council. I'm sure he and Condie "can work a deal". A Yahoo news link.

Canada has laid claim long ago and many times since to the polar region contending it's part of the natural land mass... (actually it isn't by some geological analysis). The beef with the US is more about how the international northern borders extend out into the water-space of the Arctic. The Russkies are late to the party but do see the value in making an actual "physical claim" with their flag planting.

It seems to be more about positioning before "the pie is cut up" than actually doing much more than talk. There are a number of Canadian Senate reports over the years that stress this sovereignty issue - it seems that the parties involved are all finally awake.

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 9-8-2007 by V Kaminski]

I am amazed that there was still unclaimed rights to be claimed up there. How come the russian government (or more embarrassingly the Canadian government) didn't claim these unclaimed rights a year ago? Or 5 years ago? or 10 or 20 years ago? Why suddenly now did the Russians realize that there was unclaimed rights to be had?
If I would have known that this oppurtunity existed before, I would have gone up there myself and planted my family's coat of arms flag there to claim the rights as my own... dangit!

Thanks for clarification on that iori_komei. I'm still seeing a lot of volatile verbal exchanges between the US and Canada coming soon having to do with this issue regardless that the UN will be at the table to remind everyone who that territory really belongs to. But no one listens or even respects the UN these days so it should be interesting to see how all of this unfolds.

I agree with Irondogg's comments about how long everyone has waited to even settle these disputes as global warming has been going strong and in the news for at least a good 10 years now -- you'd think everyone would have been able predict some kind of melting of the poles because of it; but noooooo, governments don't work that way right?? These north pole territory issues are a case in point.

[edit on 9-8-2007 by Palasheea]

Originally posted by IronDogg
I am amazed that there was still unclaimed rights to be claimed up there. How come the russian government (or more embarrassingly the Canadian government) didn't claim these unclaimed rights a year ago? Or 5 years ago? or 10 or 20 years ago? Why suddenly now did the Russians realize that there was unclaimed rights to be had?
If I would have known that this oppurtunity existed before, I would have gone up there myself and planted my family's coat of arms flag there to claim the rights as my own... dangit!

The reason they are doing it now, is they anticipate that the ice is melting and it will be easier to get to drill on the sea bed etc...

Originally posted by V Kaminski

It seems to be more about positioning before "the pie is cut up" than actually doing much more than talk. There are a number of Canadian Senate reports over the years that stress this sovereignty issue - it seems that the parties involved are all finally awake.

Cheers,

Vic

"the pie is cut up" -- yep, that's what's coming up but let's just hope we don't end up with BAKED ALASKA if things should start heating up on these issues. It's that little metal flag down there that's on the sea bed up there that's got Russia printed on it that scares me... perhaps an ominous warning that we should be paying attention too?? Or just 'positioning' and nothing more. I hope that's all it is.


[edit on 9-8-2007 by Palasheea]

Originally posted by Palasheea
It's Russia that scares me.

Explain, why does russia worry you, on this issue?

Originally posted by andy1033

Originally posted by Palasheea
It's Russia that scares me.

Explain, why does russia worry you, on this issue?

It's because they share Alaska's border and I have to look at the map to see how Canada's northern borders extend but Russia is right there on those borders -- so I'm sure we've got a few good years ahead to see how all parties involved are going to tackle with these territory issues. Russia's not one to play fair no matter what it's negotiating for so I anticipate a rough road ahead on all of this.

Originally posted by Sys_Config


Sounds to me like the Russians got what they wanted already.
After stealing Bushes watch in Albania (do you believe he really got it back?) and passing out phoney money in Bushes home town, no body got the message. its about time Canadians did something. I guess they sent somebody with an MBA over their to plant the flag..I bet the Russians are really quaking in their boots with that. Maybe Bush can go and hold hands in a show of solidarity with Canada.

www.ft.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Hey - Harper is YOUR candidate - not ours! The canadian people sure as hell didn't vote him in. Hmmm....sounds familiar, don't it?

How's about we send Harper back to you guys, seems he's one of your boys anyhow - and you could make him governor of Alaska or something? He's probably better educated than 98% of Alaskans any how - plus, he's used to the cold And we could then get a real canadian as PM instead.

We know how to handle the Ruskies just fine without any help from Bush thankyou - we've been doing it for years. 100 cases of Canadian Rye and a extra large jar of black caviar never fails - and it sure beats declaring 'war' every five minutes!

J.

Originally posted by spencerjohnstone
About high time Canada showed some muscle, rather than lettin its counterpart across the border to show some muscle for them. Yall think this is gonna escalate. No doubt there are oil/gas reserves around that area. Will this turn into a conflict maybe.

Showed some muscle??? Ok, yer from Scotland - so I'll excuse your lack of historical perspective....but you should probably know that the US has invaded Canada TWICE in it's history - and both times the US had their asses whooped by the canadians. Yeah - it's unlikely to be the same outcome again because the disparity in arms and men is now huge - but in an equal fight, I know where I'd put MY money

J.

Wrong Jimbo, if you include the Fenian raids, it's 3 times.

'You need to change the thread title.

It's the Arctic, which is the ice covered area of the Northern Pole.

The Antarctic is the area that makes up Antarctica, which is the continent and ice
covered area of the South Pole. '

Hmmm...maybe we should grab the Antartic too while were at it, while all this confusion as to location pervades. I wonder if the russians know which end is up??

Canadian Diplomat: 'Sure comrades - go ahead and lay claim to the Antartic if you wish - it's all yours...we won't interfere...ahem, honest!'

J.

[edit on 9-8-2007 by jimbo999]

Originally posted by Palasheea

Originally posted by andy1033

Originally posted by Palasheea
It's Russia that scares me.

Explain, why does russia worry you, on this issue?

It's because they share Alaska's border and I have to look at the map to see how Canada's northern borders extend but Russia is right there on those borders -- so I'm sure we've got a few good years ahead to see how all parties involved are going to tackle with these territory issues. Russia's not one to play fair no matter what it's negotiating for so I anticipate a rough road ahead on all of this.

I think your worry is misplaced somewhat. Russia has always respected Canada`s claims to Arctic sovereignty - they have a very good track record in this respect. The United States, on the other hand, does not officially recognize Canada`s claims in the North. IIRC, they`re one of the only nations in the world which doesn't. This issue has been on the table for decades now - with scores of US vessels - commercial and military - treating the north as international waters.