Kieran Lawrence looks at autonomous weapons and the effect they could have on modern warfare
Continuing a series on world leaders, Miles Deverson takes a look at Angela Merkel
Ben Bland examines the fallout from the Iowa caucuses and looks forward to the New Hampshire primaries.
In the first of a series on world leaders, Miles Deverson takes a look at Nicholas Sarkozy
Who owns the North Pole? Christmas purists will tell you that Father Christmas, being the sole inhabitant, surely holds that title? At the moment, no-one can claim ownership of the North Pole under international law, yet it seems St. Nick faces competition from some of the world’s biggest countries for the title.
These countries are interested in getting their hands on the wintery wonderland not for access to Santa’s present factory, but for the huge amounts of resources it holds. It is understood that the arctic could have up to 90 billion barrels of oil worth $9 trillion. That’s four times the amount of money that the UK makes in a year. On top of that, according to the BBC, the arctic is thought to hold 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas and 20% of the undiscovered natural gas liquids.
Indeed, the matter of who owns the artic is so disputed the United Nations has been forced to step in, writing to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1996. The key players in this dispute are countries with a border with the arctic, namely the US, Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark (as it owns Greenland). The UNCLOS gives them 200 miles north of their border, but if they can prove that their “continental shelf” extends further than their coastline, they are also entitled to claim that land as their border.
In 2007, Russia kicked off the fight when they planted a Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole with Russian explorer Artur Chilingarov claiming “the arctic is Russian”. In July of this year, Russia sent a submarine to explore the continental shelf that the arctic lies on to show that it is part of the Siberian shelf which is connected to Russia. This could give them rights over the North Pole itself.
Crucially for Russia, the melting arctic has created a shipping route which could decrease the time it takes to ship goods from Asia to Europe by over 30%. It is expected that Russia may mount a claim for the Arctic with the United Nations over the next year.
But Russia isn’t the only country with Arctic ambitions. In a poll earlier this year, a large proportion of Canadians said that “asserting and protecting Arctic sovereignty should be Canada’s foremost foreign policy priority”. It is understood Canada is also mapping the arctic and is expected to file a similar claim in 2013. Somewhat bizarrely, one of Canada’s biggest arguments is with Denmark over an uninhabited island measuring less than half a square mile.
In a debate which has occasionally threatened military action, both Canada and Denmark have claimed the island that lies almost exactly half-way between Greenland and the Canadian border. After years of disputes, the sides finally agreed to sit down around a table about the dispute and agree borders, which could result in Canada and Denmark sharing a land border at the island.
Denmark, for its part, also believes that it owns the North Pole and is also expected to file a claim to the United Nations by 2014. It has told the world’s media that “documentation for claims to three areas around Greenland, including an area north of Greenland which among other areas covers the North Pole” is currently being produced.
As of yet, it is unclear whether Santa will have to learn Russian, French, English, Greenlandic or Danish in order to fill out his tax returns in future. Yet with no side having yet been able to prove a claim for the North Pole, his present factory should be clear from government interference for a few more years to come. Even then, any new government will be a lot more interested in oil than presents.
For yesterday's Advent Calendar article, click here.
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