US Claims Huge Chunk of Seabed Amid Strategic Push for Resources.

The US has expanded its claims on the ocean floor, securing rights to potentially resource-rich seabeds twice the size of California. The Extended Continental Shelf covers about 1 million square kilometers, primarily in the Arctic and Bering Sea, where Canada and Russia also have claims. The US has also declared the shelf's boundaries in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico. While the US State Department claims that the development is about geography, not resources, the expansion comes as Washington seeks to secure critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy projects. The US continental shelf contains 50 hard minerals and 16 rare earth elements, but the offshore potential is largely unexplored. The decision to unilaterally delineate its continental shelf boundary may raise concerns from other countries and reduce the likelihood of the US ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. [Extracted from the article]