Strategically, the extra land would let Russia establish a military base or send submarines to the North Pole. And with its newly developed long-range continental missiles, Russia could easily hit the American mainland within 10 minutes, Zhang said. Furthermore, because 70 percent of the North Pole is covered by thick ice, submarine movement under it would not be detected, he said.

"Even if U.S. devices discover the attack and try to intercept with antimissile devices, America cannot have enough time to do that," said Zhang, adding that the United States would not let this happen.

Russian maps published during the last century always have included the North Pole as part of the country's territory and have included the Arctic Ocean as one of Russia's traditional territorial seas, Zhang said. Russia also insists that it has three sea mountains that stretch into the Arctic Ocean and are connected to the North Pole.

Moscow is moving ahead with plans to build up troops to guard the Arctic territory. In July, Moscow said it would build a new military base in Kamchatka, a 1,250-km-long peninsula in the country's far east, to patrol the Arctic.

Zhang also pointed out that as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Russia agreed to recognize that both the North Pole and the South Pole belong to the high seas, and that the Arctic territory did not fall under the country's sovereignty. "Now Russia's claim goes against the treaty," he said.

For similar reasons, the other Arctic countries are setting up watch stations in the North Pole. These countries argue they have the same opportunity and possibility to claim their own chunks of polar land, according to international law.

"We can predict that fights and disputes about the North Pole will continue and even become more intense in the coming future," Zhang said. Although Russia asserts anew that the Lomonosov Ridge reaches the polar region, a U.N. commission, which has rejected Moscow's past claims, will make the final decision, he said.

All this has implications for China, too. Because the country is in the northern hemisphere, the North Pole's climate and ecological changes influence developments on its surrounding bodies of water, climate, environmental system and social economy. China has legal rights to enter open seas, send scientific exploration teams to polar areas and carry out scientific research, according to the Treaty Concerning the Archipelago of Spitsbergen. This 1920 treaty determined that the Arctic archipelago, now called Svalbard, was an overseas part of Norway. It gave all signatories the right to engage in commercial activities on the islands.

"However, China will never claim sovereignty over the North Pole, because this move will betray China's peaceful diplomacy," Zhang said.

The North Pole is not enough

The new Enclosure Movement also could spread to the opposite end of the world. Artur Chilingarov's assistant announced on August 8 that the 67-year-old politician had another plan to explore the South Pole from December 2007 to February 2008. Many countries have their own scientific exploration teams in the South Pole.

The Russian flag-planting expedition in the Arctic Ocean reminded the world that legislation about land grabs in open territories is not perfect. If relevant legislation cannot be revised, some predict that the same situation might occur at the South Pole in the future.

Unlike the North Pole, the South Pole falls under a special treaty that regulates international relations with respect to Antarctica. The treaty established the continent as a scientific preserve and bans military activities. It currently has 46 treaty member nations. Yet, some argue this treaty may not be enough to stop future land grabs.

A sub-rule on scientific research conducted at the South Pole requires the first country doing research in a specific area to set up a research station. This is a big incentive for many countries to invest in scientific research in the South Pole and take on significant projects there in order to have a say in affairs concerning Antarctica.

Scientific research in the polar lands not only reflects a country's comprehensive power and hi-tech level, but also is important to its politics, science, economy, diplomacy and the military. So far, 28 countries have established more than 50 regular scientific research stations at the South Pole. Some countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, also have set up special protective zones.

One of the major tasks of these countries' scientific missions is to discover new strategic energy resources at the South Pole. When their scientific power at the world's southern tip grows, their political and diplomatic powers will increase as well.

In the 1970s, massive oil and natural gas fields were discovered at the South Pole. It has been reported that there are at least hundreds of billions of barrels of oil, 5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and immeasurable amounts of "flammable ice" -- a frozen form of methane that is the main component of natural gas -- under the ice cover of the South Pole and at the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean. Many mine resources and nonferrous metals also are found at the South Pole.