Russia accused of annexing the Arctic for oil reserves
Pastor Dale Morgan
Russia accused of annexing the Arctic for oil reserves*
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:23AM BST 18/05/2008
The battle for "ownership" of the polar oil reserves has accelerated
with the disclosure that Russia has sent a fleet of nuclear-powered ice
breakers into the Arctic.
It has reinforced fears that Moscow intends to annex "unlawfully" a vast
portion of the ice-covered Arctic, beneath which scientists believe up
to 10 billion tons of gas and oil could be buried. Russian ambition for
control of the Arctic has provoked Canada to double to $40 million
(£20.5 million) funding for work to map the Arctic seabed in support its
claim over the territory.
The Russian ice breakers patrol huge areas of the frozen ocean for
months on end, cutting through ice up to 8ft thick. There are thought to
be eight in the region, dwarfing the British and American fleets,
neither of which includes nuclear-powered ships.
Canada also plans to open an army training centre for cold-weather
fighting at Resolute Bay and a deep-water port on the northern tip of
Baffin Island, both of which are close to the disputed region. The
country's defence ministry intends to build a special fleet of patrol
boats to guard the North West Passage.
The crisis has raised the spectre of Russia and the West joining in a
new cold war over the Arctic unless the United Nations can resolve the
dispute.
Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, told Telegraph: "Four of the
five Arctic powers are Nato members, yet Nato seems ill-configured to be
able to respond to the sort of activities we have seen from the
Russians. We need to ensure Nato has the will and the capability to
deter Russian activity that contravenes international laws or treaties."
Jonathan Eyal, of the Royal United Services Institute, said the dispute
could simmer for years. "The message from Vladimir Putin is that Russia
will no longer be shackled to treaties signed by Yeltsin when he was
half drunk or when Russia was on its knees," he said. "This dispute is
not only about oil reserves which might or might not exist, it is about
the control of sea lanes. Russia's movements could pitch it into a
serious territorial dispute with the US for the first time."
Tension in the Arctic is also being heightened by the revival of Russian
Cold War-era manoeuvres. Hardly a week passes without Russian aircraft
over-flying the North Pole, simulating strikes on "enemy" bases and
shipping.
The crisis erupted last year when a Russian submarine crew planted a
flag on the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,240-mile stretch of seabed that Moscow
says is Russian. Derided at the time as a stunt, the move focused
attention on the race for the Arctic's hidden treasures.
No country owns the Arctic Ocean or the North Pole, but under the 1982
UN Law of the Sea Convention, each country with a coast has exploitation
rights in a limited "exclusive economic zone". On ratification of the
convention – and America has yet to ratify it – each country has 10
years to make claims extending its zone.
Russia rivals Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer and is
estimated to have the largest natural gas supplies. Energy earnings are
funding a $189 billion (£97 billion) overhaul of its armed forces.