Canada will not back down from its claims to a disputed Arctic region even after reports that Russia is planning a new military force to protect its interests in the area, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon said on Friday.
Cannon said he would make Canada’s position clear when he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet, possibly this week.
“Sovereignty is uppermost for us,” Cannon said after a speech on Canada’s Arctic strategy to an international relations group. “We will not be swayed from that.”
“We want to be able to work on bilateral and multilateral forums on environment, economic development, governance structures ... but let’s be perfectly clear here: Canada will not be bullied,” Cannon said.
A Kremlin strategy paper signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last fall and publicized in the Russian media on Friday said the country is seeking to strengthen border guard forces in the Arctic region, while creating a new military force to “ensure military security under various military-political circumstances.”
The report said the Arctic, which is believed to contain as much as 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas, must become Russia’s “top strategic resource base” by the year 2020.
Canada, Russia, the US and the Nordic countries are also seeking to assert jurisdiction in the disputed territory.
The UN rejected Moscow’s initial claim in 2001 because of a lack of evidence, but Russia is seeking to prove its continental shelf extends to an underwater mountain range that spans the polar region.
A shrinking polar ice cap that has opened new shipping lanes, as well as opportunities to gain access to once-hidden resources has helped intensify the dispute in recent months.
On Feb. 18, the day before US President Barack Obama visited Canada, two Russian Tupolev 95 bombers were turned away from Alaska and the Yukon about 200km from Canadian and US airspace.
Ottawa has committed to strengthening Canada’s own military infrastructure, creating a military training center in the region and beefing up the capacity of Canada’s Arctic Rangers.
Ottawa has also moved to increase the jurisdiction of Canadian environmental law over northern waters and made it mandatory for foreign ships to register with the Canadian Coast Guard.
In his speech on Friday, Cannon stressed the need for countries to work together and repeated calls to focus on the Arctic Council, the main international forum on Arctic issues.
He plans to discuss Arctic issues further when council members meet next month in Norway. He also plans to address bilateral Arctic issues with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a meeting on April 6.
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