Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon Wednesday called for international co-operation to deal with the challenges unfolding in the Arctic.

Canada will staunchly defend its sovereignty over Arctic lands and waters through its "robust Arctic foreign policy", Cannon said in a speech delivered in the subarctic city of Whitehorse, capital of Canada's Yukon Territory.

But he said Canada recognizes that issues facing the Arctic, such as the hunt for oil and gas and increased shipping access to open Arctic waters, require working with its neighbors.

He said that Canada will continue to direct international attention toward "a renewed focus" on the Arctic Council, which includes Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia and the United States.

"Looking ahead to Canada's chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2013, I intend to meet with my council counterparts this year ... We will explore ways to strengthen our bilateral and multilateral cooperation," he said.

Members of Canada's Arctic Council Advisory Committee is meeting in Whitehorse and preparing for the Arctic Council foreign ministers' meeting to be held in Tromso, Norway on April 29, 2009.

Disputes over the Arctic sovereignty have been heated up in recent years. Denmark planted its flag on a tiny rock outcrop called Hans Island in 2003 and a Russian submarine crew put a flagon part of the Arctic ocean floor in 2007.

Over the last two years, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has used trips to the north to highlight what he calls the "first principle of Arctic sovereignty: use it or lose it."

Source:Xinhua