Date
Author
Михаил МОШКИН; Виктор ВОЛОДИН
Source
Preserved copy
Translated material
Prime to follow
Canada will respond to the installation of Russia's ice flag by creating military camps in the Arctic
While the “political instructor” of the Arctic-2007 expedition, Artur Chilingarov, is accepting congratulations on Russia’s successful exploration of the ocean floor in the North Pole region , his fellow polar explorers are continuing scientific research in this promising region. Their goal is to prove that a fair share of the Arctic shelf and all the hydrocarbon “bins” resting under its bottom belong to our country (let us recall that, according to experts, about a quarter of the world’s oil and gas reserves are hidden here).On Saturday, specialists from the Institute of Marine Technology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the support of the Murmansk Shipping Company, began examining the underwater Lomonosov Ridge. This underwater formation, according to domestic scientists, should be a natural continuation of the Siberian geological platform, and therefore part of the Russian continental shelf, which, according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, gives coastal states a priority right to develop underwater mineral resources. True, as international lawyers remind, the applicant state will be able to obtain this right only ten years after it submits an application to the relevant UN commission.
While the controlled underwater vehicle Harpsichord 1-R is collecting a “geological dossier,” a diplomatic scandal is flaring up on land, in which almost all Arctic states have already become involved: the USA, Canada and Denmark. On Sunday, the Danes sent their own expedition to the North Pole, with a goal similar to the Russian one: to prove that the Lomonosov Ridge is an underwater continuation of Greenland, which, as is known, is a self-governing possession of the Danish kingdom. The journey will last about five weeks. Let us note that not only the Danish ship Oden is taking part in the expedition, but also the Russian nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy. It is also curious that the Minister of Science, Technology and Development of Denmark, Helge Sander, strongly denies the connection between the two scientific-political-economic projects. “The fact that the expedition will take place immediately after the Russian one is just a coincidence, since it was prepared in advance,” Mr. Sander emphasized yesterday.
The most influential Arctic power, the United States, has so far limited itself to a diplomatic demarche against the insidious Russians. “I'm not sure what they planted - a metal flag, a rubber flag or a plate on the ocean floor. But whatever it is, it has no legal meaning or effect for this application,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey expressed indignation.
Canada, the country that was the first to react negatively to the appearance of a titanium Russian flag on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, is acting most actively. Official Ottawa has announced its intention to build two military facilities in the Canadian Arctic. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Friday that a new army training camp will be located in the village of Risolute Bay in Nunavut province, located 595 kilometers from the North Pole. There will be about 100 military personnel trained to fight war in the Arctic. A deep-sea port will be built in the abandoned village of Nanisivik on Baffin Island. It will be built at the eastern entrance to the strategic Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and will be used for military and civilian purposes. The Canadian Prime Minister also announced an increase in the patrol unit of the Canadian Eskimo Rifles to 5 thousand. “The announcement of the construction of military facilities will show the world that Canada is counting on its long-term presence in the Arctic. "Protecting national sovereignty and the integrity of our borders is the primary responsibility of the national government," said Stephen Harper. The Canadian Prime Minister intends to prove the right of the Country of the Maple Leaf to the polar territories not only in word, but also in deed: Mr. Harper personally went to survey the area where the base will be built.