In what is believed to be a first ever, a Russian expedition aboard two deep-sea submersibles dove to the seabed beneath the North Pole ice cap last Thursday. One of the mini-submarines dropped a rust-proof titanium Russian flag on the seabed nearly 3 miles below the ice cap, making a symbolic claim to the North Pole.

Warmer temperatures have made the exploration of the Arctic seabed possible for the first time, and Russia is beating its competition.

Artur Chilingarov, a member of Russia’s lower house of Parliament, led the research mission to collect data reinforcing Russia’s claim over the largely uncharted territory which the U.S. Geological Survey estimates holds 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves.

Russia’s claim to the North Pole dates back to 2001 when it went before a United Nations commission stating Russia’s Siberian continental shelf is directly linked to the North Pole by the Lomonosov Ridge lying under the Arctic Ocean. The commission rejected Russia’s claim to 460,000 square miles of the Arctic and told the nation to submit more evidence.

The United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Russia all have territory in the Arctic Circle. According to the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention, each has a 12-mile offshore territorial limit as well as a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Under the convention, a nation can extend its economic zone if it can prove the sea floor is a natural extension of its continental shelf.

The international rivalry for the territory is speeding up, with all five nations working to secure rights in the region. Denmark is conducting a survey of its own, and Canada, which has the second-longest Arctic coastline, has earmarked $70 million to map the seabed on its side of the Lomonsov Ridge in preparation for its submission. Canada also plans to build eight new ice-capable patrol ships to protect its sovereignty in the Arctic. Russia, however, has commanding lead over the others in the race; it is due to submit its revised claim in 2009. Canada is not due to submit its evidence until 2013.

“Legally speaking, it’s just a show,” said Michael Byers, Canada’s leading expert on Arctic Sovereignty issues, regarding the planting of the Russian flag. “But it’s also an awfully impressive display of Russia’s capability to operate in the Arctic. And that capability means that Russia will be able to file a scientifically complete claim to the Arctic seabed with the United Nations on time, while Canada’s ability to do so is highly questionable.”

The U.S. has to date failed to ratify the convention and therefore cannot make claims or participate in the commission that examines Russia’s or other nations’ claims. Still, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it will send an icebreaker to the Artic Circle on August 6 for research purposes. It already has three polar icebreakers.

If the UN accepts Russia’s claim, Russia would end up with about two thirds of the hydrocarbon reserves in the Arctic Ocean, according to Russian Geological Institute researcher Nikolai Osokin.

The Russian expedition leaders are comparing their achievement to planting a flag on the moon. Russian scientists marvel at the technological achievement.

“It was a good chance to demonstrate the capabilities of this equipment and the depths that can be reached, and to demonstrate the courage of Mr. Chilingarov, which is great,” said Ivan Frolov, director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg.

The expedition also demonstrates the confidence of Russia as a whole as it continues to exert itself as a major power. Russia already controls much of the world’s resources, and it’s looking for more.

While other nations struggle to leave the starting line in the race for control of the resource-rich Arctic, Russia has shown the world that it’s in it to win.