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Article: On thin ice: water rights and resource disputes in the Arctic Ocean.(ANDREW WELLINGTON CORDIER ESSAY)(Essay)
- Article from:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Article date:
- March 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Columbia University School of International Public Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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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.'" (1)
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