Arctic Interrogation

Countries began making more and more claims on the Arctic over time. Denmark, Canada, and Russia have especially become involved. On November 16, 2004, Denmark ratified UNCLOS. Greenland has land in the Arctic Ocean and is part of Denmark, which has led Denmark to make a lot of claims. Since 2004, Denmark has claimed over five areas of the Arctic. On December 15, 2014 it claimed 900,000 square miles there. Denmark has also become involved in claims for Hans Island and the Lomonosov Ridge. If Denmark can prove that the Lomonosov Ridge is connected to Greenland, then about 347,492 square miles in the Arctic would be added to its territory. Canada also ratified UNCLOS on November 7, 2003. Canada has also made several claims in the Arctic and has
Later, Russia ratified UNCLOS on March 12, 1997. In 2001, Russia claimed 460,800 square miles in the Arctic. In 2002, Russia tried to claim another part of the Arctic, but the claim was rejected because there wasn’t enough evidence for it. On July 7, 2011, Norway and Russia ratified the Treaty on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The treaty resolved a dispute over 67,000 miles in the Barents Sea in the Arctic and gave Russia about half of it. In November of 2013, Russia had a claim for 52,000 square kilometers in the Arctic in the Sea of Okhotsk approved. More recently, Russia has claimed 463,000 square miles in the Arctic, which would allow it to get fisheries and oil and gas reserves. The sea shelf that Russia claimed includes the Lomonosov Ridge, Chukchi Plateau, Mendeleyev-Alpha Rise, Podvodnikov Basin, and Chukchi Basin. The territory contains five billion tons of untapped oil and natural gas worth $30 trillion. Russia is trying to claim the Northern Sea Route, too. It is a seasonal shipping route that is being created by the melting Arctic ice across northern
More and more evidence is being found for claims. The U.S. still can’t make claims, though. The United States does still want more influence in the Arctic, so it is enhancing its Arctic search and rescue and military infrastructure, improving its intelligence-gathering operations, and working with allies to resolve issues about the Arctic. Over the years, the U.S. government has been trying to push to ratify UNCLOS, but there has been too much opposition in the Senate. If the U.S. ratified UNCLOS, the Coast Guard could have more power and ban ships that are doing environmentally harmful things. Some senators don’t want to have anything to do with the United Nations or international agreements. Some people think that ratifying UNCLOS would give the United Nations the power to impose taxes on America. Some people also argue that instead of not ratifying UNCLOS, the United States should try to change the treaty a little to make more people approve of it. Until the U.S. ratifies UNCLOS, it can’t extend its territory in the Arctic. There have been ongoing problems with claims, though. One problem with overlapping claims involves Hans Island. It is a 1.3 square kilometer island in the Kennedy Channel in the Nares Strait. Both Canada and Denmark are trying to claim it. So far, they haven’t been able to come to an agreement, though. Another part of the Arctic that countries are trying to claim is the Lomonosov Ridge. It is an