Cold War
A Russian expedition descended in a pair of submersible vessels more than two miles under the ice cap on Thursday and deposited a Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole. The dive was a symbolic move to enhance the government’s disputed claim to nearly half of the floor of the Arctic Ocean and potential oil or other resources there.[...]
At least one country with a stake in the issue registered its immediate disapproval of the expedition. “This isn’t the 15th century,” Peter MacKay, Canada’s foreign minister, said on CTV television. “You can’t go around the world and just plant flags and say, ‘We’re claiming this territory.’ ”
In addition to Russia and Canada, Norway, Denmark, and, of course, the US are all squabbling over who "owns" the Arctic. And it should go without saying that this is all about oil, gas, and other minerals.
Oh, and all of this is because the Arctic Ice Cap is melting. I can't imagine why that would be happening.
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