North
American Integration And
The Militarization Of The Arctic
By Michel Chossudovsky
21 August, 2007
Global
Research
The Battle for the Arctic is
part of a global military agenda of conquest and territorial control.
It has been described as a New Cold War between Russia and America.
Washington's objective is
to secure territorial control, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants,
over extensive Arctic oil and natural gas reserves. The Arctic region
could hold up to 25% of the World's oil and gas reserves, according
to some estimates. (Moscow Times, 3 August 2007). These estimates are
corroborated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): "he real possibility
exists that you could have another world class petroleum province like
the North Sea." (quoted by CNNMoney.com, 25 October 2006)
From Washington's perspective,
the battle for the Arctic is part of broader global military agenda.
It is intimately related
to the process of North American integration under the Security and
Prosperity Partnership Agreement (SPP) and the proposed North American
Union (NAU). The SPP envisages, under the auspices of a proposed "multiservice
[North American] Defense Command", the militarization of a vast
territory extending from the Caribbean basin to the Canadian Arctic.
It also bears a relationship
to America's hegemonic objectives in different parts of the World including
the Middle East. The underlying economic objective of US military operations
is the conquest, privatization and appropriation of the World's reserves
of fossil fuel. The Arctic is no exception. The Arctic is an integral
part of the "Battle for Oil". It is one of the remaining frontiers
of untapped energy reserves.
The Arctic nations (with
territories North of the Arctic circle) are Russia, Canada, Denmark,
the US, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. The first three countries
(Russia, Canada and Denmark) possess significant territories extending
northwards of the Arctic circle.
Directed against Russia,
which is in the process of claiming part of the Arctic shelf, Washington's
Arctic strategy is tied into a broader process of militarization and
territorial integration.
UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea
The United States has adopted
a unilateral approach to Arctic development. It has refused to approve
the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was ratified
by both Russia and Canada. A United Nations Committee currently administers
the Law of the Sea Convention.
The US transpolar territory
is much smaller than that of Russia, Canada and Denmark. US territories
bordering the Arctic are limited to the North Alaskan coastline, extending
from the Bering straits to the Northeastern Alaskan US-Canadian border.
The US has a number of US military bases and installations in Alaska.
There are several human settlements on the Northern Slope ( Northern
Alaska coastline bordering the Arctic Ocean), including Prudhoe Bay,
Barrow and Cape Lisborne. This Northern Slope is rich in oil. It was
among the first areas of development of Arctic oil. The Alaskan pipeline
links Prudoe Bay on the North Slope to the port of Valdez in Prince
William Sound on the Gulf of Alaska.
Russia
Russia, in contrast, has
by far the largest border with the Arctic, from the Northwestern city
of Murmansk on the Russian-Finnish border, extending over the entire
Northern Siberian region, to the Bering Straits, which separate Alaska
from the Russian Federation. Murmansk is the largest city north of the
Arctic Circle, with a population of more than 400,000 inhabitants. In
other words, a large part of the Russian continental shelf borders the
Arctic.
Russia, going back to the
Soviet era, had established scientific-military stations on the island
of Northern Zemlya as well as in the Francois Joseph archipelago (Franz
Josef Land), which is also under Russian jurisdiction. (See map.) Northern
Zemlya was used during the Soviet era for underground nuclear testing.
Russia is now claiming sovereignty
(under the International Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS) of
a vast 1,191,000 sq km territory which is part of the Arctic shelf.
This territory claimed by
Russia submitted to the UN Committee that administers UNCLOS is said
to contain substantial hydrocarbon reserves, on the Arctic seabed:
The 1982 International
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes a 12 mile zone
for territorial waters and a larger 200 mile economic zone in which
a country has exclusive drilling rights for hydrocarbon and other resources.
Russia claims that the entire swath of Arctic seabed in the triangle
that ends at the North Pole belongs to Russia, but the United Nations
Committee that administers the Law of the Sea Convention has so far
refused to recognize Russia’s claim to the entire Arctic seabed.
In order to legally claim that Russia’s economic zone in the Arctic
extends far beyond the 200 mile zone, it is necessary to present viable
scientific evidence showing that the Arctic Ocean’s sea shelf
to the north of Russian shores is a continuation of the Siberian continental
platform. In 2001, Russia submitted documents to the UN commission on
the limits of the continental shelf seeking to push Russia's maritime
borders beyond the 200 mile zone. It was rejected.
Now Russian scientists assert there is new evidence that Russia’s
northern Arctic region is directly linked to the North Pole via an underwater
shelf. Last week a group of Russian geologists returned from a six-week
voyage to the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater shelf in Russia's remote
eastern Arctic Ocean. They claimed the ridge was linked to Russian Federation
territory, boosting Russia's claim over the oil- and gas-rich triangle.
The latest findings are likely to prompt Russia to lodge another bid
at the UN to secure its rights over the Arctic sea shelf. If no other
power challenges Russia’s claim, it will likely go through unchallenged.
(See
Vladimir Frolov, Global Research, July 2007)
Russia is basing its claim
on the grounds that this portion of the Arctic sea shelf is connected
to Russia's continental shelf, through the 2000 km long underwater Lomonosov
ridge. "According to Russian media, the physical connection to
the Russian intercontinental shelf means that the ridge is technically
a part of Russia, and therefore open to exploitation."
( http://www.oilmarketer.co.uk/2007/07/0
4/russia-seeks-un-approval-on-artic-oil-grab/
The Strategic Role
of Canada and Denmark's
Arctic Territories
After Russia, Canada and
Denmark have the largest transpolar territories.
To effectively challenge
and encroach upon Russian territorial claims in the Arctic, Washington
requires not only the collaboration of Canada and Denmark, but also
jurisdiction over their respective Northern territories, which are considered
by Washington as strategic from both a military and economic standpoint.
The US has a military presence
in both Canada and Denmark (Greenland). Both countries play an important
role in Washington's Arctic strategy.
Canada's territory, extends
northwards to the Queen Elizabeth archipelago which includes Ellesmere
Island bordering onto the Sea of Lincoln, which is part of the Arctic
Ocean. Ellesmere Island is part of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
Alert on Ellesmere Island
(located at 82°28'N, 62°30'W) is considered the northernmost
human settlement in the world. In practice it operates as a military
intelligence station (Canadian Forces Station Alert) is under the jurisdiction
of the Canadian military. CFS Alert is 840 km from the North Pole.
The militarization of the
Arctic is part of the process of North American integration under the
Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement (SPP). The proposed North
American Union (NAU) constitutes a means for the US to extend its sovereignty
over Canada's Arctic territories.
When the creation of US Northern
Command was announced in April 2002, Canada accepted the right of the
US to deploy US troops on Canadian soil, extending into its Arctic territories:
"U.S. troops could
be deployed to Canada and Canadian troops could cross the border into
the United States if the continent was attacked by terrorists who do
not respect borders, according to an agreement announced by U.S. and
Canadian officials." (Edmunton Sun, 11 September 2002)
In April 2006, Canada formally
ratified a renewed North American Aerospace Defense Agreement (NORAD),
("renewed NORAD"), which allows the US Navy and Coast Guard
to deploy American war ships in Canadian territorial waters including
its Arctic seabed territories. (For further details, see Michel Chossudovsky,
Canada's Sovereignty in Jeopardy: The Militarization of North America,
Global Research, August 2007)
Greenland
Greenland, which is under
Danish jurisdiction, constitutes a sizeable landmass bordering the Arctic
Ocean.
The Thule Air Force base
in Northern Greenland is under the jurisdiction of the US Air Force
821st Air Base Group. It constitutes the US's northernmost military
facility (76°32'N, 68°50'W). The military base lies approximately
1118 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1524 km south of the Terrestrial
North Pole. The Thule base is 885 km east of the North
Magnetic Pole.
The Thule US Air Force base
also "hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron, a Ballistic Missile
Early Warning Site designed to detect and track Intercontinental Ballistic
Missiles (ICBMs) launched against North America."
The Thule base links up to
NORAD and US Northern Command headquarters at the Peterson Air Force
base in Colorado. The Thule base is also "host to Detachment 3
of the 22d Space Operations Squadron, which is part of the 50th Space
Wing's global satellite control network."
Denmark is member of NATO,
firmly allied with the US. Both Danish and Canadian territory will be
used by the US to militarize the Arctic. Denmark has also been a firm
supporter of the Bush administration's military agenda in the Middle
East.
Canada's Arctic Military
Facilities
Ottawa's July 2007 decision
to establish a military facility in Resolute Bay in the Northwest Passage
was not intended to reassert "Canadian sovereignty. In fact quite
the opposite. It was established in consultation with Washington. A
deep-water port at Nanisivik, on the northern tip of Baffin Island is
also envsaged.
The US administration is
firmly behind the Canadian government's decision. The latter does not
"reassert Canadian sovereignty". Quite the opposite. It is
a means to eventually establish US territorial control over Canada's
entire Arctic region including its waterways.
Under the renegotiated North
American Aerospace Defense Agreement (NORAD), the US military has access
to Canada's domestic territorial waters including Canada's sea shelf
with the Arctic, which coincidentally also provides Washington under
the guise of "North American sovereignty" with a justification
to challenge Russia in the Arctic.
© Copyright Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2007
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