(Redirected from Yukon-Alaska dispute)
Arctic topography
Under international law, no country currently owns the
North Pole or the region of the
Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The five surrounding Arctic states,
Russia, the
United States (via
Alaska),
Canada,
Norway and
Denmark (via
Greenland), are limited to a 200
nautical mile (370km) economic zone around their coasts.
[1]
Upon ratification of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country has a ten year period to make claims to extend its
200 nautical mile zone.
[2] Due to this, Norway (ratified the convention in 1996
[3]), Russia (ratified the convention in 1997
), Canada (ratified in 2003
) and Denmark (ratified in 2004
) launched projects to base claims that certain Arctic sectors should belong to their territories.
North Pole
History
In
1925, based upon the
Sector Principle,
Canada became the first country to extend its boundaries northward to the North Pole, at least on paper, between 60°W and 141°W
longitude, a claim that is not universally recognized (there are in fact 415 nautical miles, or 770km, of ocean between the Pole and Canada's northernmost land point).
Russia (35°E to 170°W) and
Norway (5°E to 35°E) have made similar sector claims, as did the
United States of America (170°W to 141°W), but that sector contained only a few islands, so the claim was not pressed.
Denmark's sovereignty over all of
Greenland was recognized by the
United States in 1916 and by an international court in 1933.
Denmark could also conceivably claim an Arctic sector (60°W to 10°W).
[4]
In addition, Canada claims the water between its
Arctic Islands as internal waters. The
United States of America is one of the countries which does not recognize Canada's, or any other countries', Arctic water claims, and has allegedly sent
nuclear submarines under the ice near Canadian islands without requesting permission.
On
April 15 1926, the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR declared the territory between two lines (35°E and 170°W) drawn from
Murmansk to the
North Pole and from the
Chukotka Peninsula to the North Pole to be Soviet territory.
[5]
Otherwise, until
1999 the North Pole and the major part of the
Arctic Ocean had been generally considered international territory. However, as the polar ice has begun to recede at a rate higher than expected (see
global warming), several countries have made moves to claim, or to enforce pre-existing claims to, the waters or seabed at the Pole.
Recent claims
Canada
In response to
Arktika 2007,
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister said the following:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also promised to defend Canada's claimed sovereignty with building and operating up to eight Arctic patrol ships,
a new army training centre in
Resolute Bay, and the refurbishing of an existing deepwater port at a former mining site in
Nanisivik.
[6]
Denmark
The Danish autonomous province of
Greenland has the nearest coastline to the North Pole, and Denmark argues that the Lomonosov Ridge is in fact an extension of Greenland. Danish project included
LORITA-1 expedition in April-May 2006
[7] and will include tectonic research during
LOMROG expedition, included into the 2007-2008 International Polar Year program.
[8] This expedition will be held in August-September 2007. It will consist of the
Swedish icebreaker "Oden" and
Russian nuclear icebreaker "50 let Pobedy" (50 Years of Victory); the latter will lead the expedition through icefields to the place of research.
[9]
Norway
On November 27, 2006, Norway also made an official submission into the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (article 76, paragraph 8). There are provided arguments to extend the Norwegian 200nm zone in three areas of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Arctic: the Loop Hole in the
Barents Sea, the Western Nansen Basin in the
Arctic Ocean, and the Banana Hole in the
Norwegian Sea. The submission also states that an additional submission for continental shelf limits in other areas may be posted later.
[10]
Russia
Main articles: Continental shelf of Russia#2001 extension claim,
Arktika 2007
Russia is claiming a larger slice extending as far as the north pole.
Moscow believes the Arctic seabed and
Siberia are linked by one
continental shelf.
[1]
On
December 20 2001 Russia made an official submission into the
UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (article 76, paragraph 8). In the document it is proposed to establish new outer limits of the
continental shelf of Russia beyond the previous
200 nautical mile zone, but within the Russian Arctic sector.
[12] The territory claimed by Russia in the submission is a large portion of the Arctic, including the
North Pole.
[13] One of the arguments was a statement that
Lomonosov Ridge, an
underwater mountain ridge underneath the Pole, and
Mendeleev Ridge are extensions of the
Eurasian continent. In 2002 the UN Commission neither rejected nor accepted the Russian proposal, recommending additional research.
On
August 2 2007, a
Russian expedition of six explorers led by
Arthur Chilingarov, employing
MIR submersibles, for the first time in history descended to the seabed below the
North Pole. Here they planted the
flag of Russia and took water and
soil samples for analysis, continuing a mission to provide additional evidence related to the Russian claim of the mineral riches of the Arctic.
[14] This was part of the ongoing
2007 Russian North Pole expedition within the program of the 2007–2008
International Polar Year.
The expedition aims to establish that a section of seabed passing through the pole, known as the
Lomonosov Ridge, is in fact an extension of Russia's landmass. The expedition came as several countries are trying to extend their rights over sections of the Arctic Ocean floor. Both Norway and Denmark are carrying out surveys to this end.
Vladimir Putin made a speech on a nuclear ice-breaker earlier this year, urging greater efforts to secure Russia's "strategic, economic, scientific and defence interests" in the Arctic.
United States
In
August 2007, an American
Coast Guard icebreaker, the
USCGS ''Healy'', headed to the Arctic Ocean to map the sea floor off
Alaska. Larry Mayer, director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the
University of New Hampshire, stated the trip had been planned for months, having nothing to do with the Russians planting their flag. The purpose of the mapping work aboard the ''Healy'' is to determine the extent of the
continental shelf north of Alaska.
[15]
Future
It was stated by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on
March 25 2007, that riches are waiting the shipping industry due to
Arctic climate change. This economic sector could be transformed similar to the way the Middle East was by the
Suez Canal in the 19th century. There will be a race among nations for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, accelerated by the impact of
global warming.
[16]
The potential value of the North Pole and the surrounding area resides not so much in shipping itself but in the possibility that lucrative
petroleum and
natural gas reserves exist below the sea floor. Such reserves are known to exist under the
Beaufort Sea, and further exploration elsewhere in the Arctic might become more feasible if global warming opens up the
Northwest Passage as a regular channel of international shipping and commerce, particularly if Canada is not able to enforce its claim to it.
Hans Island
Main articles: Hans Island
Hans Island is situated in the
Nares Strait, a
waterway that runs between
Ellesmere Island (the most northerly part of
Nunavut,
Canada) and
Greenland.
In 1973, Canada and Denmark negotiated the geographic coordinates of the
continental shelf, and settled on a delimitation treaty which was ratified by the
United Nations on
December 17,
1973, and in force since
March 13,
1974. The treaty list 127 points (
latitude and
longitude) from
Davis Strait to the end of
Robeson Channel, where Nares Strait runs into
Lincoln Sea, to draw
geodesic lines between, to form the border. The treaty does not, however, draw a line from point 122 (80° 49' 2 - 66° 29' 0) to point 123 (80° 49' 8 - 66° 26' 3), a distance of 875 metres (0.47 nm). Hans Island is situated in the centre of this area.
Danish flags had been planted on Hans Island in 1984, 1988 and 2004. These were formally protested by the Canadian government, and followed with former
Canadian defence minister Bill Graham making an unannounced stop on Hans Island during a trip to the Arctic in July 2005. This launched yet another diplomatic quarrel between the governements, and a truce call that September.
Canada had claimed Hans Island was clearly in their territory, as topographic maps originally used in 1967 to determine the island's co-ordinates clearly showed the entire island on Canada's side of the delimitation line. However, federal officials reviewed the latest satellite imagery in July 2007, and conceded the line went roughly through the middle of the island. This still presently leaves ownership island disputed, with claims over fishing grounds and future access to the Northwest Passage possibly at stake as well.
[17]
Beaufort Sea
Beaufort Sea and disputed waters
There is an ongoing dispute involving a wedge-shaped slice on the
International Boundary in the
Beaufort Sea, between
Canada's
Yukon territory, and the
American state of
Alaska.
[Transnational Issues CIA World Fact Book]
The Canadian position is that the maritime boundary should follow the land boundary. The American position is that the maritime boundary should extend along a path equidistant from the coasts of the two nations. The disputed area may hold significant
hydrocarbon reserves. The US has already leased eight
plots of terrain below the water to search for and possibly exploit oil reserves that may exist there. Canada has protested diplomatically in response.
[Sea Changes]
No settlement has been reached to date, because the US has signed but has not ratified the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. If the treaty is ratified, the issue would likely be settled at a tribunal.
Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage routes
Main articles: Northwest Passage, Canadian Internal Waters
The legal status of a section of the Northwest Passage is disputed: Canada considers it to be part of its internal waters, fully under Canadian juristriction, arguing that they are archipelagic waters under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[18] The United States and most maritime nations, consider them to be an international strait,[19] which means that foreign vessels have right of "transit passage".[20] In such a régime, Canada would have the right to enact fishing and environmental regulation, and fiscal and smuggling laws, as well as laws intended for the safety of shipping, but not the right to close the passage.[21][22]
References
1. news.yahoo.com
2. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Annex 2, Article 4)
3. http://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_files/status2007.pdf
4. T. E. M. McKitterick, "The Validity of Territorial and Other Claims in Polar Regions," ''Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law,'' 3rd Ser., Vol. 21, No. 1. (1939), pp. 89-97.[1]
5. George Ginsburgs, The Soviet Union and International Cooperation in Legal Matters, Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers, 1988, ISBN 0792330943, available at Google Print
6. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/08/10/port-north.html
7. LORITA-1 (Lomonosov Ridge Test of Appurtenance)
8. LOMROG - Lomonosov Ridge off Greenland
9. LOMROG 2007 cruise with the Swedish icebreaker Oden north of Greenland
10. Outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines: Submissions to the Commission: Submission by Norway CLCS. United Nations
11. news.yahoo.com
12. Outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines: Submissions to the Commission: Submission by the Russian Federation CLCS. United Nations
13. Area of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the Arctic Ocean beyond 200-nautical-mile zone - borders of the 200 mile zone are marked in red, territory claimed by Russia is shaded
14. The Battle for the Next Energy Frontier: The Russian Polar Expedition and the Future of Arctic Hydrocarbons, by Shamil Midkhatovich Yenikeyeff and Timothy Fenton Krysiek, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, August 2007
15. news.yahoo.com
16. The Big Melt, ''The New York Times'', October 2005
17. Satellite imagery moves Hans Island boundary: report
18. UNCLOS part IV, ARCHIPELAGIC STATES
19. Climate Change and Canadian Sovereignty in the Northwest Passage
20. The Northwest Passage Thawed
21. UNCLOS part III, STRAITS USED FOR INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION
22. The Northwest Passage and Climate Change from the Library of Parliament - Canadian Arctic Sovereignty
See also
★ United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
★ 2007 Russian North Pole expedition
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