NE Watch Desk
In a significant development, United
States has added 386,000 square miles (6.21 lakh square kilometers) to its
total landmass, almost doubling the size of Spain. The expansion was revealed
after the Department of State or DOS incorporated submerged offshore areas,
known as the extended continental shelf -ECS, from six regions.
The ECS, located beyond 200 nautical
miles and under shallow water, is crucial for maritime activities, housing
essential resources and habitats for marine life, as highlighted by the US
Geological Survey or USGS. The largest ECS area for US is in the Arctic,
spanning 350 miles to the north and over 680 miles in the western region.
Apart from the Arctic, the US ECS
includes regions along the Atlantic east coast, the Pacific west coast, the
Bering Sea, the Mariana Islands, and two portions of the Gulf of Mexico. The
State Department emphasized that, like other nations, US has international
rights to conserve and manage resources and habitats within its ECS.
The expansion holds major implications
for the US’ territorial claims in the Arctic, according to the Wilson Centre, a
Washington, DC-based think tank. With vast economic interests in undersea
territories rich in oil, natural gas, minerals, and marine life, US reinforces
its sovereign rights under the Law of the Sea Convention.
The Wilson Centre noted US boasts the
world’s largest exclusive economic zone, a crucial element in safeguarding
sovereign rights to submerged areas.
The extension of the ECS is grounded in
data analysis conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
or NOAA and USGS.
