The Council of International Relations in the United States has warned that armed conflict is likely over the resources of the Arctic Seabed unless a framework for international negotiations is set up as soon as possible. The Arctic sea floor has been the subject of a number of claims and counter claims since 2001 when Russia applied to the United Nations for sovereignty over 460,000 square miles of the resource rich area. The combination of spiralling resource prices and the disappearance of sea ice, has made it viable to mine resources that have been buried under ice for millenia. Britain, Canada, the United States and Scandinavian countries are also claiming large areas of the Arctic Ocean. As reported previously on The Generator, similar claims are being made over the Antarctic Ocean and large parts of the continent.
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