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.
I’d argue that expanding the zones a bit doesn’t incur costs other than updating some maps, as existing radar systems etc were already reaching into the newly claimed areas, undoubtedly.
Am I worried about my country’s creeping reach, and have I suddenly realized there’s yet another way to slowly encroach on territory? Yes.
policing a space/securing it for industry costs. They didn’t change the maps just to feel good about themselves, this is only the first step to opening these spaces up for exploitation.
If nothing else, they need a presence to help the companies quash unionization efforts on the mining rigs, don’t they? And that costs.
I’d argue that expanding the zones a bit doesn’t incur costs other than updating some maps, as existing radar systems etc were already reaching into the newly claimed areas, undoubtedly.
Am I worried about my country’s creeping reach, and have I suddenly realized there’s yet another way to slowly encroach on territory? Yes.
E: why the downvotes?
policing a space/securing it for industry costs. They didn’t change the maps just to feel good about themselves, this is only the first step to opening these spaces up for exploitation.
If nothing else, they need a presence to help the companies quash unionization efforts on the mining rigs, don’t they? And that costs.