JUST days before standing down as US president, George “Dubya” Bush issued a directive claiming a vast area of the Arctic on behalf of the United States.
Apparently, this was not a taunt directed at Russia, nor Canada, even though it is becoming increasingly proprietorial about the Northwest Passage. Other countries that have lodged claims to the region with the UN include Greenland (Denmark), Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
It is thought that the directive is a catalyst to White House determination not to lose out in the Arctic resources race, though it is not yet clear what the view of the still-new Obama administration is on the potentially highly strategic issue.
The slant of the directive is apparently much as expected, including that it reflects the outgoing president’s support for American Senate ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty, an international agreement blocked by some conservative Republicans.
The directive asserts that the Northwest Passage through Canada is an international shipping route and calls for building up the US presence in the region to protect strategic interests, including homeland security.
The policy talks about promoting responsible energy development and preparing for the risks associated with increased marine traffic through the region as summer ice retreats.
Fourteen years have passed since the last review of US federal Arctic policy, since when a clearer picture of potential energy resources has emerged.
Notably, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said last year that there are about 90billion bbl of recoverable oil and more than 167trillion cu ft of natural gas within the Arctic Circle, of which a significant slice lies within North American territory.
During the time the Bush administration was in power, pressure to exploit the US Arctic grew significantly to the point that a leasing round was launched. However, that has run into trouble.
Last month, a US federal appeals court put the brakes on a plan to lease more than 78million acres of the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering seas to petroleum companies. Moreover, the court ordered a full environmental review before the programme can proceed. Yet the Los Angeles Times said the manoeuvre could be “little more than a speed bump” in the rush to commercialise the Arctic, which global warming (and the resulting shrinking sea ice) has made accessible as never before.
Meanwhile, tensions are reported to be growing between Canada and Russia, according to StrategyWorld.
It claims the neighbours are engaged in a growing dispute over who controls certain Arctic waters and natural resources that may be present on the seabed beneath.
“Russia says it is going to set up a special military force to patrol Arctic waters it believes it ‘owns’,” it says.
“Precisely who controls Arctic waters has never been spelled out by international treaty and the Russians have expressed a determination to define what they own by themselves and see who will do what to oppose these claims.”