Asia-Pacific

US seeks co-op in fast-changing Arctic

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-11 13:33

WASHINGTON - The Arctic could become the next great international battleground for resources, with melting icecaps opening new shipping routes, fishing grounds and some of the world's richest and as yet unexplored oil and gas deposits.

So far, the United States, Russia and other nations near the North Pole are trying to work together. They'll take a baby step in that direction later this week in Greenland when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sign an agreement on search-and-rescue operations with their counterparts from seven other countries.

The message of cooperation will be cautious, however, as the biennial Arctic Council meeting will tiptoe around some tougher questions on global warming, competing territorial claims and what to do in the event of an oil spill.