The United States recently released an official map of the extended continental shelf, extending 200 nautical miles from the Arctic, Atlantic, Bering Sea, Pacific Ocean, two sections of the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of the Mariana Islands. The U.S. said the move would not create a territorial dispute with Russia, but would require mediation with Canada and Japan.
However, Vladimir Zakharov, a well-known Russian orientalist, believes that this move by the United States will exacerbate US-Russian relations and US-China relations. He cautioned that the United States, which has unilaterally seized hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian assets and angered Moscow, is now "aggressively expanding its continental shelf in the Arctic," which will strain relations even more.
The United States claims that this move provides the possibility of claiming an extended continental shelf in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, the United States did not accede to the Convention. Experts believe that this move by the United States will please the center-right people in the country, but it will undermine the international order that the United States uses to criticize Russia and China for related moves.
The U.S. expansion of the continental shelf has sparked widespread concern and controversy internationally. Some countries see the U.S. move as an attempt to expand their sphere of influence amid a global competition for maritime rights. At the same time, some international law experts have also pointed out that the United States has not acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, so its claim to extend the continental shelf is controversial in international law.
Russia reacted strongly to the US move, and some Russian people believe that the United States is provoking Russia's interests in the Arctic region. The actions of the United States are unilateral, unacceptable, and inconsistent with international law and the principle of cooperation among Arctic states. Cooperation in the Arctic should be based on international law and the common interests of the Arctic countries, and not on unilateral actions.
At the same time, some people believe that the US move may exacerbate regional tensions and be detrimental to global peace and stability. He called on all parties to resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, and to maintain regional peace, stability and international order.
Washington's statement comes after the US industrial complex called for "confrontation" with the moves of Russia and China on the continental shelf. The military-industrial complex wants to develop the Arctic potential, sell icebreakers and other products. For the most part, however, the United States will continue to assert the legitimacy of its claims, but ratification of UNCLOS will be required to do so.
In short, the US practice of expanding the continental shelf has aroused widespread controversy and opposition in the international community. All countries should respect international law and international order, resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, and jointly safeguard global peace and stability.