The US extended its claims on the ocean floor by an area twice the size of California, securing rights to potentially resource-rich seabeds at a time when Washington is ramping up efforts to safeguard supplies of minerals key to future technologies.
Most of this claim is perfectly reasonable. China is claiming international waters.
I do agree though that the claim around Alaska is way too large – it looks a lot more like China’s claim in the South China Sea. Take some small islands and claim the whole sea as yours.
Except those small islands near Alaska are natural, and have always been there, (On a human timescale, anyways) and were part of the original Alaska purchase. The one China uses to claim a whole sea was completely artificial, and built for the sole purpose of claiming new areas.
Isn’t this the kind of shit that everybody gets mad at China for doing? Seems a bit hypocritical.
No, everyone gets mad at China for trying to redraw maritime borders with its neighbors.
This is legally highly questionable, but not nearly the same thing.
Everyone gets mad at China for creating a new artificial island in order to claim a huge swath of previously international waters.
Literally no. If it seems hypocritical it’s because you don’t actually understand the significant differences between the two.
How the hell does a comment like this get 20+ upvotes.
Lotsa tankies on lemmy
Most of this claim is perfectly reasonable. China is claiming international waters.
I do agree though that the claim around Alaska is way too large – it looks a lot more like China’s claim in the South China Sea. Take some small islands and claim the whole sea as yours.
Except those small islands near Alaska are natural, and have always been there, (On a human timescale, anyways) and were part of the original Alaska purchase. The one China uses to claim a whole sea was completely artificial, and built for the sole purpose of claiming new areas.
And Russia/China in Canada’s north.
Well, but see, Chinese people aren’t white.