Arctic Council gives 6 more Nations the right to help destroy and plunder the Arctic

 

4 Years ago: China granted observer status in Arctic Council: The meeting also witnessed the signing of Kiruna Declearation, which recognized "the importance of maintaining peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic," and "the importance of the sustainable use of resources, economic development and environmental protection."

 

Approximately 230 people, including ministers, delegates from the eight Arctic states, representatives of indigenous peoples, scientists and observers, participated in this event, which marks the end of the two-year Swedish chairmanship and the beginning of the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The Arctic Council, founded about 20 years ago, includes eight Arctic countries, namely Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.

India’s bid for observer status in the Arctic Council was successful on Wednesday along with that of five other countries — China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. An MEA spokesperson said India would contribute its scientific expertise, particularly its polar research capabilities.

However, at the level of realpolitik, India will be looking at the opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration offered in the Arctic circle by joining hands with either of the five countries gearing up for the purpose — the US, Canada, Norway, Russia and Denmark. n geography is considered, Russia emerges as the most attractive partner. But for that to happen, India will have to take a firm political stand on the Lomonosov Ridge and the Mendeleev Ridge which Russia claims are an extension of its continental shelf .

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada and the world as they scramble for the resources as the Arctic thaws.

The Cold War for Arctic resources is not just heating up – it’s leading to a growing militarization in the remote North.

That’s the conclusion a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which claims that Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway are all developing their military interests there. Also, more countries are seeking access to the region’s important natural resources and transport routes, such as “outsiders” like China, India and Brazil.

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada: The Pentagon wants to know what’s happening in the Arctic; there’s an app for that. Well not yet, but Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants one in a hurry. In a call for proposals this week, it said it plans to pick, deploy and test two systems this summer. “Remote sensing may offer affordable advantages over traditional methods of monitoring the region – aircraft, satellites or manned ships and submarines – due to the great distances in the Arctic,” the agency said in a call for bids.

The U.S. military wants “new technologies to monitor the Arctic both above and below the ice, providing year-round situational awareness without the need for forward-basing or human presence.” Nothing nefarious about that. Except that slicing up the Arctic as retreating ice heralds a 21st-century resources rush and shipping boom at the top of the world is shaping up as a race for riches and control.Do you think it will matter?

I have been covering this for 6 years now, remember: The scramble for the Arctic: Russia to station 2 military Brigades in the Arctic: Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests and Putin is back
Russia's defense minister has said he plans to create two specialist army brigades to be based in the Arctic.The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests in the region.

Denmark to lay claim to North Pole: DENMARK which already counts Greenland and the Faroe Islands as its Arctic territories, is planning to lay claim to the North Pole. This will put Denmark on a collision course with Russia, the US, Canada and Norway but they all better make a share deal and avoid conflict over this.

I wanted to discuss that in 2007 when Russia declared that it had successfully planted their flag at the bottom of the Arctic claiming it as Russian territory Russia was disturbed that Canada the US and others dismissed it as a joke saying that is worthless in the 21st Century. Myself I wasn't as sure as it seems like a scary ratcheting up of the race for future resources and world domination. Well attitudes are changing when recent events are taken into account. I am sure Denmark's joining this venture will simply be dismissed.

It has been noted that Russian nostalgia for past greatness has been seen stretching from the North Pole to the Mediterranean via the Caucasus. First the Russians planted a flag on the bottom of the Arctic. Then they promised to return to the Mediterranean. .

Russia's Mediterranean plans pale in comparison with its audacious foray into the Arctic where they collected soil samples and planted the Russian flag two and a half miles below the sea. The official purpose of this first-ever manned mission was "to prove that the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf." Geologists say the region could have big oil, gas and mineral reserves. Massive oil reserves is more like it!

Knowing that the Arctic features prominently in Russian Imperial mythology and the rising desire for Russia to regain prominence as a world power you have to be very concerned about this and Canada now is. Canada's prime minister went on a three-day trip to the Arctic in an effort to assert sovereignty over the region a week after Russia symbolically staked a claim to the North Pole by sending submarines.

Five countries -- Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway and Denmark -- are competing to secure subsurface rights to the Arctic seabed. One study by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. PM Harper, who has pledged to spend billions defending Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, is said "Economic development -- unleashing the resource-based potential of the North, environmental protection -- protecting the unique Northern environment, national sovereignty -- protecting our land, airspace and territorial waters were his priorities.

" In response to the building interest in the shelf Canada's PM Harper announced that six to eight new patrol ships would be built to guard the Northwest Passage sea route in the Arctic, which the United States insists does not belong to Canada. Canadian PM vowed in 2007 to defend Arctic

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins had criticized Harper's promise to defend the Arctic, calling the Northwest Passage "neutral waters." This is all very troubling as we watch the ratcheting up of tensions around the world as we try to move into the future. The increased militarism around the world is tenuous but throw all the recent developments in with what is shaping up to be a fight over the Arctic and its resources which will only serve to ecologically destroy another very important part of the Ocean's and world's ecosystem in what is increasingly appearing in trouble.

Denmark's interest and claim is also old. The scramble for the Arctic also gathered pace in 2007 as Denmark prepared to challenge Russia's bid for the North Pole and Canada vowed to defend its "sovereignty" over the region's frozen waters. Boy are they getting desperate! Over the next month they searched for evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,200-mile, underwater mountain range running close to the Pole, is a geographical extension of Greenland, a Danish possession. 

The mission it was felt would strain relations between Denmark and Russia, which claims to have found evidence linking the ridge to Siberia. Both countries will seek adjudication from a United Nations commission in the next few years that could award a large swathe of Arctic territory to the country with the most compelling case. The scramble for the arctic The time is coming closer!

With the ice melting all of a sudden everyone has a claim to the land below and we are racing to destroy the Arctic. It sickens me to hear lies like China, India, and the rest of them saying they just want a faster route of travel and want to protect peace and the environment. Russia and Canada are not the only ones who have long voiced the willingness to fight for what they believe is theirs. That Arctic Council is a joke and will stop none of the impending destruct but merely enlarge the amount of Countries allowed to do it.
  


* In closing:China Focus: China publishes Arctic policy, eyeing vision of "Polar Silk Road"1/26/2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/26/c_136927327.htm


James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

The battle for the Arctic takes shape

 

The Arctic Is Melting, So The U.S. Military Has Another Place It Has To Defend:  The Strategy opens by saying the Arctic is at a “strategic inflection point” because “its ice cap is diminishing more rapidly than projected.” This brings increasing “human activity, driven by economic opportunity” that ranges from shipping and fishing to fossil fuel extraction and tourism. 

Most experts believe there will be no Arctic sea ice in the summer by 2030. Secretary Hagel said in his speech that the U.S. “will remain prepared to detect, deter, prevent and defeat threats to our homeland and we will continue to exercise U.S. sovereignty in and around Alaska.                                                                                                                       

 Putin ramps up the world's fight for the Arctic

Putin said the Russian military has been restoring a Soviet-era military base on the New Siberian Islands that was shut down after the Soviet collapse. He added that the facility is key for protecting shipping routes that link Europe with the Pacific region across the Arctic Ocean.

 

  Last month, a Russian navy squadron led by the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, visited the archipelago, which occupies a strategic position on the Arctic shipping route. Putin said that the military has already re-established a permanent garrison there and will restore an airfield and other facilities.China granted observer status in Arctic Council: The meeting also witnessed the signing of Kiruna Declearation, which recognized "the importance of maintaining peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic," and "the importance of the sustainable use of resources, economic development and environmental protection."

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada and the world as they scramble for the resources as the Arctic thaws.

The Cold War for Arctic resources is not just heating up – it’s leading to a growing militarization in the remote North.

That’s the conclusion a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which claims that Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway are all developing their military interests there. Also, more countries are seeking access to the region’s important natural resources and transport routes, such as “outsiders” like China, India and Brazil.

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada: The Pentagon wants to know what’s happening in the Arctic; there’s an app for that. Well not yet, but Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants one in a hurry. In a call for proposals this week, it said it plans to pick, deploy and test two systems this summer. “Remote sensing may offer affordable advantages over traditional methods of monitoring the region – aircraft, satellites or manned ships and submarines – due to the great distances in the Arctic,” the agency said in a call for bids. 

The U.S. military wants “new technologies to monitor the Arctic both above and below the ice, providing year-round situational awareness without the need for forward-basing or human presence.” Nothing nefarious about that. Except that slicing up the Arctic as retreating ice heralds a 21st-century resources rush and shipping boom at the top of the world is shaping up as a race for riches and control.Do you think it will matter?
I have been covering this for 6 years now, remember: The scramble for the Arctic: Russia to station 2 military Brigades in the Arctic: Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests and Putin is back.

Russia's defense minister has said he plans to create two specialist army brigades to be based in the Arctic.The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests in the region.

Denmark to lay claim to North Pole: DENMARK which already counts Greenland and the Faroe Islands as its Arctic territories, is planning to lay claim to the North Pole. 

This will put Denmark on a collision course with Russia, the US, Canada and Norway but they all better make a share deal and avoid conflict over this.

I wanted to discuss that in 2007 when Russia declared that it had successfully planted their flag at the bottom of the Arctic claiming it as Russian territory Russia was disturbed that Canada the US and others dismissed it as a joke saying that is worthless in the 21st Century. Myself I wasn't as sure as it seems like a scary ratcheting up of the race for future resources and world domination. Well attitudes are changing when recent events are taken into account. I am sure Denmark's joining this venture will simply be dismissed.

It has been noted that Russian nostalgia for past greatness has been seen stretching from the North Pole to the Mediterranean via the Caucasus. First the Russians planted a flag on the bottom of the Arctic. Then they promised to return to the Mediterranean. .

Russia's Mediterranean plans pale in comparison with its audacious foray into the Arctic where they collected soil samples and planted the Russian flag two and a half miles below the sea. The official purpose of this first-ever manned mission was "to prove that the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf." Geologists say the region could have big oil, gas and mineral reserves. Massive oil reserves is more like it!

Knowing that the Arctic features prominently in Russian Imperial mythology and the rising desire for Russia to regain prominence as a world power you have to be very concerned about this and Canada now is. Canada's prime minister went on a three-day trip to the Arctic in an effort to assert sovereignty over the region a week after Russia symbolically staked a claim to the North Pole by sending submarines.

Five countries -- Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway and Denmark -- are competing to secure subsurface rights to the Arctic seabed. One study by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. PM Harper, who has pledged to spend billions defending Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, is said "Economic development -- unleashing the resource-based potential of the North, environmental protection -- protecting the unique Northern environment, national sovereignty -- protecting our land, airspace and territorial waters were his priorities.

" In response to the building interest in the shelf Canada's PM Harper announced that six to eight new patrol ships would be built to guard the Northwest Passage sea route in the Arctic, which the United States insists does not belong to Canada. Canadian PM vowed in 2007 to defend Arctic

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins had criticized Harper's promise to defend the Arctic, calling the Northwest Passage "neutral waters." This is all very troubling as we watch the ratcheting up of tensions around the world as we try to move into the future. The increased militarism around the world is tenuous but throw all the recent developments in with what is shaping up to be a fight over the Arctic and its resources which will only serve to ecologically destroy another very important part of the Ocean's and world's ecosystem in what is increasingly appearing in trouble.

Denmark's interest and claim is also old. The scramble for the Arctic also gathered pace in 2007 as Denmark prepared to challenge Russia's bid for the North Pole and Canada vowed to defend its "sovereignty" over the region's frozen waters. Boy are they getting desperate! Over the next month they searched for evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,200-mile, underwater mountain range running close to the Pole, is a geographical extension of Greenland, a Danish possession. 

 

The mission it was felt would strain relations between Denmark and Russia, which claims to have found evidence linking the ridge to Siberia. Both countries will seek adjudication from a United Nations commission in the next few years that could award a large swathe of Arctic territory to the country with the most compelling case. The scramble for the arctic The time is coming closer!

With the ice melting all of a sudden everyone has a claim to the land below and we are racing to destroy the Arctic. It sickens me to hear lies like China, India, and the rest of them saying they just want a faster route of travel and want to protect peace and the environment. Russia and Canada are not the only ones who have long voiced the willingness to fight for what they believe is theirs. That Arctic Council is a joke and will stop none of the impending destruct but merely enlarge the amount of Countries allowed to do it.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

Scientists say enough water to fill earths oceans 3 times deep in the earth, that should scare the hell out of everyone

 Scientists say there is lots and lots of water trapped deep in the Earth:Scientists have long theorized a mass of hidden water was somewhere below, but a group of geologists from Northwestern University are the first to offer evidence.The geologists found the water while studying a vast stretch of Earth's mantle called the transition zone. The vast underground region extends across much of North America.

 The water, enough to fill the oceans three times over, is hiding in a mineral called ringwoodite some 400 miles beneath Earth's crust. "Geological processes on the Earth's surface, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes, are an expression of what is going on inside the Earth, out of our sight," Jacobsen said.

This scares the hell out  of me. Look what we have done to absolutely everything we lay our hands on. The core of the planet? Look at what we have done to the air and land. Look what we have done to the earth with fracking and our lust for energy. Will the absolute destruction wrought by Fracking matter in the end?

Look at the death and destruction we have wrought on our oceans the very source of our life.We are killing ourselves not just the ocean, our food supply,and the planet
 
Now the world is fighting to destroy what is left of the Arctic which many feel is the source of many of our future problems not to speak of all the on going war and future wars to come. The world is fighting to destroy the Arctic

I am scared to death knowing that the idiots in charge of us now know that near the center of the earth is more fresh water than we can use. What the hell are they going to do to get at it?

My God! There is no end until they totally use this planet up and destroy man and the planet.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

Canada, Russia, Denmark now want to claim the North Pole

 Canada risks tensions with Russia by claiming ownership of North Pole:  The move could raise tensions with Denmark and Russia, both of which also look set to lay claim to the North Pole on the grounds it lies on a continental shelf they control.  

 

 "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 reporters. 

 

Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway and the United States are all keen to control as much as they can of a region the U.S. Geological Survey says contains 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 15 percent of oil.

Putin said the Russian military has been restoring a Soviet-era military base on the New Siberian Islands that was shut down after the Soviet collapse. He added that the facility is key for protecting shipping routes that link Europe with the Pacific region across the Arctic Ocean.

 

Last month, a Russian navy squadron led by the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, visited the archipelago, which occupies a strategic position on the Arctic shipping route. Putin said that the military has already re-established a permanent garrison there and will restore an airfield and other facilities.China granted observer status in Arctic Council: The meeting also witnessed the signing of Kiruna Declearation, which recognized "the importance of maintaining peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic," and "the importance of the sustainable use of resources, economic development and environmental protection."

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada and the world as they scramble for the resources as the Arctic thaws.

The Cold War for Arctic resources is not just heating up – it’s leading to a growing militarization in the remote North.

That’s the conclusion a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which claims that Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway are all developing their military interests there. Also, more countries are seeking access to the region’s important natural resources and transport routes, such as “outsiders” like China, India and Brazil.

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada: The Pentagon wants to know what’s happening in the Arctic; there’s an app for that. Well not yet, but Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants one in a hurry. In a call for proposals this week, it said it plans to pick, deploy and test two systems this summer. “Remote sensing may offer affordable advantages over traditional methods of monitoring the region – aircraft, satellites or manned ships and submarines – due to the great distances in the Arctic,” the agency said in a call for bids. 

The U.S. military wants “new technologies to monitor the Arctic both above and below the ice, providing year-round situational awareness without the need for forward-basing or human presence.” Nothing nefarious about that. Except that slicing up the Arctic as retreating ice heralds a 21st-century resources rush and shipping boom at the top of the world is shaping up as a race for riches and control.Do you think it will matter?
I have been covering this for 6 years now, remember: The scramble for the Arctic: Russia to station 2 military Brigades in the Arctic: Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests and Putin is back.

Russia's defense minister has said he plans to create two specialist army brigades to be based in the Arctic.The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests in the region.

Denmark to lay claim to North Pole: DENMARK which already counts Greenland and the Faroe Islands as its Arctic territories, is planning to lay claim to the North Pole. This will put Denmark on a collision course with Russia, the US, Canada and Norway but they all better make a share deal and avoid conflict over this.

I wanted to discuss that in 2007 when Russia declared that it had successfully planted their flag at the bottom of the Arctic claiming it as Russian territory Russia was disturbed that Canada the US and others dismissed it as a joke saying that is worthless in the 21st Century. Myself I wasn't as sure as it seems like a scary ratcheting up of the race for future resources and world domination. Well attitudes are changing when recent events are taken into account. I am sure Denmark's joining this venture will simply be dismissed.

It has been noted that Russian nostalgia for past greatness has been seen stretching from the North Pole to the Mediterranean via the Caucasus. First the Russians planted a flag on the bottom of the Arctic. Then they promised to return to the Mediterranean. .

Russia's Mediterranean plans pale in comparison with its audacious foray into the Arctic where they collected soil samples and planted the Russian flag two and a half miles below the sea. The official purpose of this first-ever manned mission was "to prove that the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf." Geologists say the region could have big oil, gas and mineral reserves. Massive oil reserves is more like it!

Knowing that the Arctic features prominently in Russian Imperial mythology and the rising desire for Russia to regain prominence as a world power you have to be very concerned about this and Canada now is. Canada's prime minister went on a three-day trip to the Arctic in an effort to assert sovereignty over the region a week after Russia symbolically staked a claim to the North Pole by sending submarines.

Five countries -- Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway and Denmark -- are competing to secure subsurface rights to the Arctic seabed. One study by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. PM Harper, who has pledged to spend billions defending Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, is said "Economic development -- unleashing the resource-based potential of the North, environmental protection -- protecting the unique Northern environment, national sovereignty -- protecting our land, airspace and territorial waters were his priorities.

" In response to the building interest in the shelf Canada's PM Harper announced that six to eight new patrol ships would be built to guard the Northwest Passage sea route in the Arctic, which the United States insists does not belong to Canada. Canadian PM vowed in 2007 to defend Arctic

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins had criticized Harper's promise to defend the Arctic, calling the Northwest Passage "neutral waters." This is all very troubling as we watch the ratcheting up of tensions around the world as we try to move into the future. The increased militarism around the world is tenuous but throw all the recent developments in with what is shaping up to be a fight over the Arctic and its resources which will only serve to ecologically destroy another very important part of the Ocean's and world's ecosystem in what is increasingly appearing in trouble.

Denmark's interest and claim is also old. The scramble for the Arctic also gathered pace in 2007 as Denmark prepared to challenge Russia's bid for the North Pole and Canada vowed to defend its "sovereignty" over the region's frozen waters. Boy are they getting desperate! Over the next month they searched for evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,200-mile, underwater mountain range running close to the Pole, is a geographical extension of Greenland, a Danish possession. 

 

The mission it was felt would strain relations between Denmark and Russia, which claims to have found evidence linking the ridge to Siberia. Both countries will seek adjudication from a United Nations commission in the next few years that could award a large swathe of Arctic territory to the country with the most compelling case. The scramble for the arctic The time is coming closer!

With the ice melting all of a sudden everyone has a claim to the land below and we are racing to destroy the Arctic. It sickens me to hear lies like China, India, and the rest of them saying they just want a faster route of travel and want to protect peace and the environment. Russia and Canada are not the only ones who have long voiced the willingness to fight for what they believe is theirs. That Arctic Council is a joke and will stop none of the impending destruct but merely enlarge the amount of Countries allowed to do it.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

Part 2: Putin ramps up the world's fight for the Arctic

Putin said the Russian military has been restoring a Soviet-era military base on the New Siberian Islands that was shut down after the Soviet collapse. He added that the facility is key for protecting shipping routes that link Europe with the Pacific region across the Arctic Ocean.

 

Last month, a Russian navy squadron led by the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, visited the archipelago, which occupies a strategic position on the Arctic shipping route. Putin said that the military has already re-established a permanent garrison there and will restore an airfield and other facilities.China granted observer status in Arctic Council: The meeting also witnessed the signing of Kiruna Declearation, which recognized "the importance of maintaining peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic," and "the importance of the sustainable use of resources, economic development and environmental protection."

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada and the world as they scramble for the resources as the Arctic thaws.

 

The Cold War for Arctic resources is not just heating up – it’s leading to a growing militarization in the remote North.

That’s the conclusion a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which claims that Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway are all developing their military interests there. Also, more countries are seeking access to the region’s important natural resources and transport routes, such as “outsiders” like China, India and Brazil.

U.S.'s Arctic plans may serve as a wake-up call for Canada: The Pentagon wants to know what’s happening in the Arctic; there’s an app for that. Well not yet, but Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants one in a hurry. In a call for proposals this week, it said it plans to pick, deploy and test two systems this summer. “Remote sensing may offer affordable advantages over traditional methods of monitoring the region – aircraft, satellites or manned ships and submarines – due to the great distances in the Arctic,” the agency said in a call for bids. 

The U.S. military wants “new technologies to monitor the Arctic both above and below the ice, providing year-round situational awareness without the need for forward-basing or human presence.” Nothing nefarious about that. Except that slicing up the Arctic as retreating ice heralds a 21st-century resources rush and shipping boom at the top of the world is shaping up as a race for riches and control.Do you think it will matter?
I have been covering this for 6 years now, remember: The scramble for the Arctic: Russia to station 2 military Brigades in the Arctic: Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests and Putin is back.

Russia's defense minister has said he plans to create two specialist army brigades to be based in the Arctic.The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia would strongly defend its interests in the region.

Denmark to lay claim to North Pole: DENMARK which already counts Greenland and the Faroe Islands as its Arctic territories, is planning to lay claim to the North Pole. This will put Denmark on a collision course with Russia, the US, Canada and Norway but they all better make a share deal and avoid conflict over this.

I wanted to discuss that in 2007 when Russia declared that it had successfully planted their flag at the bottom of the Arctic claiming it as Russian territory Russia was disturbed that Canada the US and others dismissed it as a joke saying that is worthless in the 21st Century. Myself I wasn't as sure as it seems like a scary ratcheting up of the race for future resources and world domination. Well attitudes are changing when recent events are taken into account. I am sure Denmark's joining this venture will simply be dismissed.

It has been noted that Russian nostalgia for past greatness has been seen stretching from the North Pole to the Mediterranean via the Caucasus. First the Russians planted a flag on the bottom of the Arctic. Then they promised to return to the Mediterranean. .

Russia's Mediterranean plans pale in comparison with its audacious foray into the Arctic where they collected soil samples and planted the Russian flag two and a half miles below the sea. The official purpose of this first-ever manned mission was "to prove that the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf." Geologists say the region could have big oil, gas and mineral reserves. Massive oil reserves is more like it!

Knowing that the Arctic features prominently in Russian Imperial mythology and the rising desire for Russia to regain prominence as a world power you have to be very concerned about this and Canada now is. Canada's prime minister went on a three-day trip to the Arctic in an effort to assert sovereignty over the region a week after Russia symbolically staked a claim to the North Pole by sending submarines.

Five countries -- Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway and Denmark -- are competing to secure subsurface rights to the Arctic seabed. One study by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. PM Harper, who has pledged to spend billions defending Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, is said "Economic development -- unleashing the resource-based potential of the North, environmental protection -- protecting the unique Northern environment, national sovereignty -- protecting our land, airspace and territorial waters were his priorities.

" In response to the building interest in the shelf Canada's PM Harper announced that six to eight new patrol ships would be built to guard the Northwest Passage sea route in the Arctic, which the United States insists does not belong to Canada. Canadian PM vowed in 2007 to defend Arctic

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins had criticized Harper's promise to defend the Arctic, calling the Northwest Passage "neutral waters." This is all very troubling as we watch the ratcheting up of tensions around the world as we try to move into the future. The increased militarism around the world is tenuous but throw all the recent developments in with what is shaping up to be a fight over the Arctic and its resources which will only serve to ecologically destroy another very important part of the Ocean's and world's ecosystem in what is increasingly appearing in trouble.

Denmark's interest and claim is also old. The scramble for the Arctic also gathered pace in 2007 as Denmark prepared to challenge Russia's bid for the North Pole and Canada vowed to defend its "sovereignty" over the region's frozen waters. Boy are they getting desperate! Over the next month they searched for evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,200-mile, underwater mountain range running close to the Pole, is a geographical extension of Greenland, a Danish possession. 

 

The mission it was felt would strain relations between Denmark and Russia, which claims to have found evidence linking the ridge to Siberia. Both countries will seek adjudication from a United Nations commission in the next few years that could award a large swathe of Arctic territory to the country with the most compelling case. The scramble for the arctic The time is coming closer!

With the ice melting all of a sudden everyone has a claim to the land below and we are racing to destroy the Arctic. It sickens me to hear lies like China, India, and the rest of them saying they just want a faster route of travel and want to protect peace and the environment. Russia and Canada are not the only ones who have long voiced the willingness to fight for what they believe is theirs. That Arctic Council is a joke and will stop none of the impending destruct but merely enlarge the amount of Countries allowed to do it.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

China sends 3rd ship in standoff with Philippines: Despite the past this is the beginning of China's military pomposity in Asia

Philippines Warship, Chinese Vessels in Standoff: The Philippines foreign ministry said the standoff began Tuesday when Manila's flagship naval vessel, the Gregorio del Pilar, confronted eight Chinese fishing boats near a disputed shoal off the northwest province of Zambales. It said the two Chinese surveillance vessels then positioned themselves between the Philippines Navy ship and the fishing vessels, "preventing the arrest of the erring Chinese fishermen."

Both countries claim ownership of the shoal, which is known as Panatag in the Philippines, and as Huangyan Island in China. Tensions in the region have risen in recent years as China becomes increasingly assertive about its claims over the entire 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea, which is thought to be rich in oil and gas.

China sends 3rd ship in standoff with Philippines: China deployed a third ship Thursday in an area of the disputed South China Sea where a tense standoff with Philippine vessels has dragged on, sparking alarm in Manila. One of the Chinese ships blocked the entrance to a lagoon at the shoal, where at least eight Chinese fishing vessels were anchored. The Chinese ships also ordered the Philippine warship to leave Scarborough, claiming Chinese sovereignty over the rich fishing ground. 


But the warship has stayed put, arguing it is Philippine territory. "We're not retreating from our own territory," Pama said. Aside from Scarborough, the South China Sea is home to a myriad of competing territorial claims, most notably the Spratly Islands south of the shoal, an island chain claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Philippines, US Begin Military Exercises as Standoff With China Continues


Philippines, China recall protest to ease standoff

China is squeezing all her neighbors in what is just a developing fight for Asian seas and islands unfound mineral and other natural riches.:
TONY JONES, Australian Broadcasting: Now, do you support the idea of using the Cocos Islands as an air base for US surveillance aircraft? DAVID JOHNSTON: Oh, absolutely. I think our closest ally, if they're prepared to assist us in the management of what is a huge maritime frontier, I would welcome that and I know the Coalition would welcome that.

TONY JONES: There does seem to be a plan to either replace or supplement Diego Garcia, to build another version of it possibly. We should note that the US Navy operates that base in Diego Garcia for warships. It also has a military air base there under lease from Britain. So would a Coalition government be prepared to undertake a similar arrangement with the United States in the Cocos Islands?

Cocos Island - Image Results It is absolutely gorgeous and geographically placed to spy on China!

US, Thailand hold largest military drill in Asia Pacific: The Cobra Gold 2012, the largest ever multinational military exercise in the Asia-Pacific region jointly held by Thailand and the United States, began in Thailand on Feb. 7. More than 13,000 military personnel from the United States, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia have participated in the 11-day exercise.

The Cobra Gold exercise has been held annually since 1982. Given the large scale and busy schedule of the 31st Cobra Gold exercise this time and America’s newly unveiled military strategy that switches focus to the Asia-Pacific region, analysts believe that this exercise will be an important step the United States takes to enhance ties and expand cooperation with its Asian allies and to achieve its goal of “returning to Asia” and shifting its strategic focus eastward.

China says US defense policy stance misjudges Beijing intent: judge for yourself

China says US defense policy stance misjudges Beijing intent: The United States' expanded military presence in Asia is based on a miscalculation of Beijing's intent to modernize its military defenses, China said on Monday, taking a tempered stance in its first official response to Washington's plan. The United States unveiled a defense strategy last week to boost capacity in Asia, an attempt to counter China's growing ability to check U.S. power in the region, that comes with a pledged reduction in the overall size of U.S. forces. I think we have it just right this time if Iran will allow us the luxury.

China and U.S. Brinkmanship in the South China Sea: Two weeks ago, The Washington Post broadsided us with another Beltway bombshell: China's "Underground Great Wall" – a "vast network of tunnels" with a "sophisticated missile and nuclear arsenal" dug by "a secretive branch of the Chinese military."

China is also challenging its neighbors over the Spratly Islands, the Paracels, the Scarborough Shoals, Reed Bank and Tungsha in a South China Sea home to 17.7 billion tons of oil and gas? According to the Indonesian Center of Democracy, Diplomacy and Defense, Beijing has deployed 27 battleships, an aircraft carrier and unknown submarines to the area amid competing claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

After years of covering the growing tensions between China the US and all of the rest of Asia feeling bullied by China the story is getting long. Factbox: Pentagon details China's military expansion :The Pentagon said that China was on track to forge a modern military by 2020, a rapid buildup that could be potentially destabilizing to the Asia-Pacific region. Its annual assessment to Congress on China flagged all the major concerns over its growing military might, including Beijing's widening edge over Taiwan.

It also noted cyber attacks in 2010 -- including on U.S. government computers -- that appear to have originated in China. Here are details from the report Wow check out the wide expansion

The United States wants a prominent role in Asia to counter China's developing aggression The U.S. move to "return to Asia" aims to gain more interests from Asia's regional development and cement its dominant position in Asia. First, it should learn to get along with China. Its "return" to Asia has drawn people's attention back to a possible confrontation between itself and China. Many Western scholars believe that the reassertion of the leading U.S. role in Asia is directed against China because only China's rise can pose a potential challenge to its hegemony. Furthermore, a few Asian countries hope to take advantage of the United States, especially its military power, to strike a so-called strategic balance with China
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U.S. wants to use India in missile shield against Russia, China

We have been discussing increased tensions due to ownership claims over long disputed islands and unrecovered raw material riches below the east and South China Seas for years. China is embroiled in territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei Japan, and India:

China has been making all these ownership claims while warning other Asian countries to stay away. Meanwhile they have supposedly been building their world war machine with "innocent" intentions. China accuses Japan of exaggerating it as a military threat: It is no exaggeration it is called truth and you better be concerned

and China calls weapons modernization drive warnings alarmist "cock-and-bull story.

Also US senators warn Beijing on South China Sea, China warns US to stay out of it

All this to no avail as China's answer is always that her intentions are innocent "yeah like Hitler's military buildup prior to WW2" We must all stop playing these games at this point and like it or not "share" if we are to survive into the future. Sadly we know the powers to be are not smart enough to do that. We are already in severe trouble with the condition of the world environmentally and due to power struggles getting ready to erupt in the Middle East and make things horrifically worse in many regards.

I am a little worried that China too is getting a little too heavy handed and abusive with her new position of power and beginning to take what she wants instead of being content with what she has which is what I constantly lecture has to be the case if we are to have a future. The time when man and the planet could handle war and colonialism is over, period or else!

We are Taiwan's, the Philippines, and Japan's protectors and now Vietnam's. Vietnam is no real threat to China so what is up here? As China flex's their military muscles in the area we are not supposed to worry. Just what are we supposed to think they are going to do with their advanced weaponry, missiles, stealth aircraft, aircraft carriers and the like.

Their threats are going to become more ominous until they cannot be ignored and it is too late. We have been here before. The world was not supposed to worry as Hitler built his arsenal and we know how that turned out. If peace is truly the goal then try something unique and share the wealth. We need peace to succeed as a world into the 21st century not more and never ending war.

To make the situation worse as we've discussed often, the US is pledged to defend Taiwan who "at least they say" will never unify under China. There is no way we can get militarily involved with China's lust to rebuild Imperial China. Three years ago the US signed a deal to deliver a massive amount of advanced weaponry to Taiwan. The package includes a variety of U.S.-made weapons systems, including Patriot III anti-missile missiles, Apache attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles.This was 3 years ago Some deliveries are in process and some still being worked out.

China is not taking this lying down! We have covered East, South, and China sea disputes extensively

Knowing all of this I must once again express naivety. We are so kept in the dark as to any truth in any incident here and around the world. I had no idea or even thought in this context but President Hu Jintao's call for a rejuvenation of the country 100 years after the Xinhai Revolution that ended more than 2,000 years of dynastic rule in China is something new to me. Worse part is that this includes Taiwan too and China is not going to settle for no! China Urges Reunification at 100th Anniversary of Demise of Last Dynasty

President Hu calls on all of China's sons and daughters to join hands to carry on with the work of the Chinese Republic's first president, Sun Yat-sen, and realize his ideals of what he described as “China's great rejuvenation.” China has not been building her military and flexing her muscles for nothing. China wants Asia period and not just supremacy. She is going to have her Dynasty once again United States be damned. I do not like this, once again we are putting ourselves right in the middle of a growing conflict or war.

As we discussed there have been at least three cases of groups of Chinese military ships crossing through the area of Okinawa since November 2008, first 4 ships then 6 then 8 and now 10 including destroyers and submarines. That case appeared to be the first involving surfaced submarines. The group of 10 ships, including the submarines, was observed about 90 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Okinawa in international waters.

Two missile destroyers and three frigate ships from the same group were spotted participating in a flight exercise of carrier-based helicopters April 7-9, the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office said in a statement The war ships were in international waters but close to Okinawa and Japan was not notified. That area as you may know has natural resources under the ocean and islands claimed by both Nations.

It is important that we stay in Okinawa as China plays a more important role in Asia and around the world as she gains strength militarily and economically as we just discussed. Remember our discussion on the importance of China and the US staying together to move successfully through the 21st century

We must maintain as much of the old world balance and order as we can to maintain a balance as we try to move progressively and successfully through the 21st century! I know of China and Japan's past, I know of the still ongoing Island disputes, the disagreement over natural gas in another area of the East China Sea, I also remember that with China's economic clout rising she took the number 3 seat on the world bank and we talk constantly that China is taking the leading role in Asia and Asia relations.

Being in a superior position puts one in a unique position of power and that power must be handled gracefully, with humility, responsibly, and not abused. That is something I taught all my sons and America under Bush did a lousy job of handling. I am a little worried that China too is getting a little too heavy handed and abusive with her new position of power and beginning to take what she wants instead of being content with what she has which is what I constantly lecture has to be the case if we are to have a future. The time when man and the planet could handle war and colonialism is over, period or else!

We are Taiwan's and Japan's protectors. As China flex's their military muscles in the area we are not supposed to worry. Just what are we supposed to think they are going to do with their advanced weaponry, missiles, stealth aircraft, aircraft carriers and the like. Their threats are going to become more ominous until they cannot be ignored and it is too late. We have been here before. The world was not supposed to worry as Hitler built his arsenal and we know how that turned out.





James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com