Canada intends to claim the North Pole as part of its attempt to control parts of the Arctic, according to Reuters report.
The move could possibly raise tension with Denmark and Russia, the two other countries which are bent to control the North Pole.
John Baird, Canada's Foreign Minister, said that it has filed its preliminary claims to a special commission in the United Nations that handle territorial claims and disputes. According to Baird, Canada is still collecting more information and will submit succeeding data. The foreign minister said that Canada needs more time to fully map the ridge and its surrounding areas before it can file it final submission to the United Nations commission.
Baird said Canada needed more time to file a final submission to the U.N. commission because it had not had time to fully map the area around the ridge.
"We have asked our officials and scientists to do additional and necessary work to ensure that a submission for the full extent of the continental shelf in the Arctic includes Canada's claim to the North Pole," Baird told Reuters.
Besides Canada, there are four major countries that lay claim over the Arctic. These include Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the U.S. All are bent on getting control of the North Pole as much as possible because according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic contains 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 15 percent of oil.
"Obtaining international recognition for the outer limits of our continental shelf ... will be vital to the future development of Canada's offshore resources," Baird told reporters.
In 2007, a Russian submarine planted a flag on the Arctic's sea bead, which served as a symbolic claim.
Canada, Denmark, and Russia are claiming the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater mountain range that streth 1,130 miles across the North Pole. The countries involve say that it is theirs.
"Canada is going to fight to assert its sovereignty in the north but I think we will be good neighbors in doing so," Baird concluded.
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