Britain and the South Atlantic

Recent weeks have seen America, Russia, Canada and Denmark staking claims to regions of the Arctic. Just the other day Russia declared the Lomonosov Ridge is Russian.

This isn't the only area where claims are being made though. The Guardian reports:

Britain is preparing territorial claims on tens of thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean floor around the Falklands, Ascension Island and Rockall in the hope of annexing potentially lucrative gas, mineral and oil fields, the Guardian has learned.

The UK claims, to be lodged at the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, exploit a novel legal approach that is transforming the international politics of underwater prospecting.

Britain is accelerating its process of submitting applications to the UN - which is fraught with diplomatic sensitivities, not least with Argentina - before an international deadline for registering interests.

(The rest here.)

There is a scramble for resources going on. Watch this space for future developments.