by Xinhua writers Zhao Qing, Yang Shilong
OTTAWA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is demonstrating his country's determination to assert sovereignty claims to the resource-rich Arctic with his fourth trip there in three years.
Harper embarked Monday on a five-day tour, which will be packed with such highlight events as observing military exercises, holding cabinet meetings and important announcements.
This has been Harper's fourth trip to the polar area since he came into office in 2006.
As the scramble over the resource-rich region heats up, Harper's annual summer trek to the wild north has become the symbol of the country's increasing determination to pronounce its Arctic sovereignty claims.
"It's an opportunity to highlight a large and important part of our country. ... Protecting Arctic sovereignty is central to the government's agenda and of deep personal interest to the prime minister," a senior government official said at a briefing Friday ahead of Harper's departure from Ottawa.
This year, during his trip to all three of the northern administrative regions, Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Harper will hold a series of cabinet meetings with key ministers on economic and cultural development in the sparsely populated and underdeveloped area, which he deemed as crucial to strengthening sovereignty.
On Tuesday, Harper announced the creation of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, which he said was aimed at "unleashing the North's true potential".
"We know the gaze of other nations is increasingly focused here, in our Arctic. By working to reach this region's full potential, full economic potential, we are strengthening its people and we are strengthening the sovereignty of our country," he said at Iqaluit, at the southern tip of Baffin Island in Canada's northern Nunavut territory.
In July, a Russian general announced plans to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first parachute drop at the North Pole by sending paratroopers to the same site.
As a response, Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said the Canadian government was closely watching Russian plans and any country approaching Canadian airspace would be met by Canadians.
Earlier in February, Ottawa announced it sent two fighter jets to intercept Russian bomber planes which were approaching Canada's Arctic aerial territory.
During his trip, Harper will board a frigate and then a submarine on Wednesday to observe Operation Nanook, Canada's five-year-old annual military exercise in the Arctic.
This year, Operation Nanook, running from August 6 to August 28,involves about 700 military personnel on land, sea and in the air, making it the largest yet.
International interest in the Arctic has intensified in recent years as global warming thaws waterways that used to be choked with ice almost year-round and polar countries scramble to lay claim to seabed resource rights.
Russia, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Norway have all beefed up their military presence in the region, which is estimated to hold 90 billion untapped barrels of oil.
Harper's Conservative government has declared Arctic sovereignty one of its priorities since it was first elected.
"Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty in the Arctic, either we use it or we lose it," Harper said in the summer of 2007. "And make no mistake: this government intends to use it, because Canada's Arctic is central to our identity as a northern nation. It is part of our history and it represents the tremendous potential of our future."
A government report released last month outlined the four pillars of Canada's northern strategy as Arctic sovereignty, promoting social and economic development, protecting the north's environmental heritage and improving northern governance.
Plans announced so far include building new icebreakers and patrol vessels, dedicated Arctic troops, a warfare center, a sensor net, a military training camp and a deep-sea commercial port.
While the land division in the Arctic region is relatively clear, there are overlapping claims to the seabed. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that any coastal state can claim undersea territory 200 nautical miles from their shoreline and exploit the natural resources within that zone.
Nations can also extend that limit to up to 350 nautical miles from their coast if they can provide scientific proof that the undersea continental plate is a natural extension of their territory.
Canada has deemed the crucial Northwest Passage, the sea route between the Atlantic to the Pacific through the country's Arctic archipelago, as its internal territory, while the United States and other countries have insisted on taking it as an international waterway.
Canada also has disputes with Denmark over the tiny Hans Island but the two countries have recently been strengthening cooperation.
Some Canadian experts have pointed out their country does not have the resources to protect its vast Arctic territory full time, and is actually lagging behind other countries.
But they applauded the government actions, viewing Harper's visit as a signal to other countries that Canada is serious about its claims to its Arctic territory.
"All this of course, is not just flag-waving, but to show Canadians and the world that Canada is an Arctic country," said Rosemary Thompson, a veteran political analyst.
