The United States has announced its claim to a huge piece of territory in the Arctic and Bering Sea, which is also claimed by Canada and Russia. This was reported by Bloomberg.
This territory covers an area of one million square kilometers, which is twice the size of California, and is potentially rich in resources.
The State Department has published a map showing the outer limits of the US continental shelf, the country's land territory under the sea.
The United States has also declared shelf boundaries in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico.
According to international law, countries have economic rights to natural resources on and under the seabed, depending on the boundaries of their continental shelves. The seas above remain international waters.
These issues are governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the United States has not ratified. Instead of filing a lawsuit with an international commission, the United States unilaterally defined the border.
American experts believe that this may provoke the "wrath" of other countries.
