Denmark sets out legal claim to North Pole territory

Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard says the country will deliver a claim to the North Pole to a United Nations panel.

Denmark says new scientific data gives them a valid claim to the north pole, in the disputed Arctic region (pictured). (Pic: AAP)

The Danish government says scientific data shows Greenland's continental shelf is connected to a ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean, giving the country a claim to the North Pole and any potential energy resources beneath it.

Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard says Denmark will deliver a claim on Monday to a United Nations panel in New York that will eventually decide control of the area, for which Russia and Canada are also coveting.

Lidegaard said he hopes the other countries that also have made claims in the Arctic will continue to keep to "the rules of the game".

The United States, Russia, Norway, Canada and Denmark all have areas surrounding the North Pole, but only Canada and Russia have indicated an interest in it before Denmark's claim.

UN Law of the Sea

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country is entitled to a continental shelf that extends a distance of 200 nautical miles form its coast.

Any claims beyond that have to be backed up by scientific and technical data.

That's where a United nations body, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf or CLCS plays an important role.

Listen to Professor Rosemary Rayfuse, a specialist in the Law of the Sea, speaking with SBS Journalist Greg Dyett.

The Arctic: disputed waters

The below map from IBRU, Durham University outlines nation's claims to arctic waters.

Dark colours - actual waters. Lighter colours - claimed waters. Striped colours - theoretical maximum claims.

Arctic boundaries map. (Pic: IBRU, University of Durham)

Map below by SBS.

Colours of countries with an interest in the arctic correspond with waters above.