US can resolve territorial disputes with each nation bilaterally without being party to UNCLOS

Moreover, what state is going to complain if the United States claims an extended continental shelf in the Arctic – certainly not any of our Arctic neighbors? We have an existing maritime boundary with the Russian Federation in the North Pacific Ocean, the Bering and Chukchi Seas, and the Arctic Ocean, which is being provisionally applied through an exchange of diplomatic notes pending ratification by the Russian Duma.¹⁴ And talks are ongoing to resolve our long-standing but rather small maritime dispute with Canada in the Beaufort Sea. In May 2010, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs sent a clear message to Washington to begin serious discussion on the issue, indicating that there was no reason why Canada and the United States could not resolve the ongoing boundary dispute “as economic partners and best friends, sharing the longest border in the world.”¹⁵ Talks to resolve the dispute began in July 2010.¹⁶ More importantly, a careful read of the 2002 USGS Arctic report notes that the overwhelming majority of likely oil and gas reserves in the Arctic are located on land, in the 12 nm territorial sea or within the 200 nm EEZ of one of the littoral nations. Most of the Arctic oil and gas reserves are in areas under U.S. and Russian control, respectively. And a strong Navy is the best insurance to keep “outside bidders” like China from infringing on our right to exploit the natural resources on the U.S. extended continental shelf.