Crown Scrambles for Antarctica

At a time when Canada is disputing Russia's claim to the Arctic, Britain is claiming much of the south Atlantic. The United Kingdom is trying to meet a May 2009 international deadline to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, to make its formal territorial claim on tens of thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean floor around the Falklands, Ascension Island and Rockall in the hope of annexing potentially lucrative gas, mineral and oil fields. There could be as much as 60m barrels under the ocean floor around the Falklands alone. While Ascension island is unlikely to enjoy gas or oil around its waters, there could be significant mineral deposits on the ocean floor.
With the further claims made by Australia and New Zealand, our Monarch may finally have official recognition of Her territorial claims.