America just got 1 million square kilometers?

The concept of Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) may sound quite strange to those who are not familiar with it, but it is very important for countries that want to assert or expand their international territory.

This is exactly what the US has recently done, according to a recent report from Indy100 . On December 19, 2023, the US State Department released new coordinates, outlining what the country believes is its ECS.

ECS are shallow seabeds that lie off the coasts of large landmasses and can extend up to 370 km. By expanding these areas, countries can exploit any natural resources that lie within.

The US has followed 75 other countries in expanding the ECS, and not just by a small area, IFL Science reports. The US is claiming an additional 1 million ^square kilometers, nearly twice the size of Spain.

These additional ECS regions include seven in the Arctic, Atlantic, Bering Sea, Pacific , Mariana Islands, and two in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a December 20, 2023, Alaska Public Media news story, former Alaska lieutenant governor and former chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission Mead Treadwell declared that "America is bigger than yesterday."

This could expand US potential in areas such as mining, shipping, fishing and security in those locations, but it would need to be approved first.

Mr. Treadwell explained that the US needs to submit research and data to the United Nations, related to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

However, due to long-standing political disputes, the US is one of only a few countries that has not joined UNCLOS, which could hinder the plan. Mr. Treadwell remains optimistic about this issue and believes in US science in determining the extended continental shelf.