Canada, U.S. to negotiate Beaufort Sea boundary dispute

By Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press on September 24, 2024.

Canada and the United States say they have struck a task force to negotiate a boundary dispute in the Arctic. Ice is broken up by the passing of the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica as it sails through the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska, July 16, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-David Goldman

OTTAWA – Canada and the United States say they have created a task force to negotiate a boundary dispute in the Arctic.

The two countries have a long-standing dispute over a section of the Beaufort Sea, disagreeing over a treaty dating from 1825.

The countries say in a statement the task force will work on resolving overlapping claims over the area, which is north of Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Late last year, the U.S filed a continental shelf claim with a United Nations agency that includes a large chunk of the Beaufort Sea floor that Canada also seeks to control.

Canada and the U.S. say negotiations will begin this fall and will work toward a final agreement that will provide clarity on the boundaries.

Both countries have put a growing focus on the Arctic as a result of increasing strategic competition in the region.

The statement says the task force’s work will include “meaningful engagement with state, territorial, and Indigenous partners.”

It says the agreement will consider “the responsible conservation and sustainable use of Arctic resources for the mutual benefit of Americans and Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Set. 24, 2024.