Recent weeks have witnessed the intensification of rivalry over the Arctic region, in the wake of Russia sending a much publicised, well equipped expedition to the North Pole. Canada and Denmark, protested vehemently against the aims of the expedition, while the US announced plans to build two new heavy polar ships.

Territorial disputes in the Arctic region are neither few nor new. However, there is a frenzy of activity to buttress the claims of each of the countries involved especially since it is now estimated that up to 25 per cent of the world's undiscovered energy resources lie in Arctic areas. Moreover, global warming is believed to be the cause of melting of parts of the polar ice cap. This in turn is allowing for easier exploration in the forbidding icy wastes of the Arctic regions. If the ice retreats, it could open up new shipping routes and new areas where natural resources could be exploited. The North Pole is not currently regarded as part of any single country's territory and is therefore administered by the International Seabed Authority based in Jamaica.

There is a scramble among various imperialist powers, big and small, who can possibly lay claim to the resources of the Arctic, according to the Law of the Sea, to justify their doing so and to go ahead, using even military might if need be. Each one is using its own means to justify its claims. Canada, Denmark and Russia are among many countries that have ratified the UN's Convention on the Law of the Sea, which allows a state sole exploitation rights over all natural resources within a 200-nautical mile (370km) zone extending from its coastline. This zone can be extended by a further 150 nautical miles where a country can prove that the structure of the continental shelf is similar to the geological structure within its territory. The US has however not ratified the 1982 UN convention, because the US government did not want to have international restrictions placed on its actions.

The expedition to the Arctic in early August 2007 sent out two mini submarines over 4000 metres below the polar ice cap. A titanium replica of the Russian flag was planted on the seabed, over 4000 metres below the surface, to support Russia’s claim to a large triangular area of arctic territory extending up to the North Pole. The submarines' return from the seabed to the surface was regarded as the most dangerous part of the journey since the vessels risked being trapped beneath the Arctic ice sheet unless they could navigate back to the exact gap in the ice where they set off from. Another important goal of the expedition was to obtain geological evidence to back up Russia’s claim to the resource-rich Arctic seabed. Russia is claiming that an underwater mountain known as the Lomonosov Ridge is actually an extension of the Russian landmass. On this basis, it seeks to justify its claim to a large triangular area up to the North Pole, staking its rights under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. Russia lodged a formal claim in 2001 but the UN's Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf told it to resubmit the claim.

Canada’s foreign minister criticised the expedition strongly, likening it to the acts of 15 th century colonizing expeditions which planted flags in different parts of the world and claimed the territory in the name of their monarchs. Meanwhile, around the same time as the Russian expedition was diving below the North Pole, about 45 scientists from Denmark were busy cutting through ice as thick as 5 metres, to “find out what is really below the frozen sea”. Their aim was to gather data to support a possible future Danish claim to parts of the Arctic. They would like to find evidence to prove that the North Pole is geologically linked to Greenland which was part of Denmark for more than 600 years, so that Denmark could then stake a claim to the pole itself. However, the prospect of finding oil in Greenland has also led a growing number of Greenlanders to call for independence from Denmark. Norway has already gathered and submitted evidence to make its claims to arctic territory though Norwegian scientists appear to think that, while part of the region is Norwegian territory, the Pole itself is not Norwegian.

The five countries involved in the Arctic region – Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the US - are considering other potential ways of sharing the region, in which all the sea would be divided between them. The "median line method", supported by Canada and Denmark, would divide the Arctic waters between countries according to their length of nearest coastline. This would give Denmark the Pole itself but Canada would gain as well. The "sector method" would take the North Pole as the centre and draw lines south along longitudes. This would penalise Canada but Norway and, to a lesser extent, Russia, would gain.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, went on a three-day trip to the region and said Canada would build two military facilities there. He said Canada had “taken its sovereignty too lightly” in the past, and that his government had put a big emphasis on reinforcing, on “strengthening our sovereignty in the Arctic." Mr Harper also announced the expansion of one of the most remote national parks in Canada's vast and rugged north. Canada is planning to build up to eight new patrol ships while the US Congress is considering a proposal to build two new heavy polar ships.

In fact, Canada and the US are also engaged in a dispute over the future of the Northwest Passage, a partially frozen waterway that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The US says it regards it as an international strait but Mr Harper has vociferously defended the passage as Canadian territory and the six naval patrol vessels that Canada is building are intended to secure the route. The other disputes among countries bordering the Arctic include differences between Norway and Russia over the Barents Sea, competing claims of Canada and Denmark over a small island off Greenland, and the refusal of the Russian parliament to ratify an agreement with the US over the Bering Sea.

The Arctic and Antarctic regions have traditionally been regarded as the property of all countries. However the Arctic region has now become a hot bed of “scientific” activity intended to support the territorial claim of one or other littoral country. It is also becoming an arena where the presence of armed naval vessels is increasing. All this is a threat not only to the peace of the region, but is totally disregarding the rights of all other countries. The frenzied exploration of oil and gas is also bound to disturb the fragile eco system of the area, which is likely to have adverse effects on the climate and environment all over the globe. Can the peoples of the world allow the Arctic regions to be carved up and become the property of whichever imperialist power can justify its claim and has the technological and military might to extract it and defend it from others? Is it not vital that the resources of this region be tapped and used for the benefit of all countries and peoples, including the peoples traditionally living in the Arctic region? Is it not imperative that this is done, without causing immediate or long – term damage to the environment? It is therefore necessary that the working people of all countries voice their strong opposition to the activities of the countries bordering the Arctic sea and bring pressure to bear to ensure that the region is not carved up according to the selfish plans of a few states.