In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Qu Tanzhou, director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, said Arctic resources should “be allocated according to the needs of the world, not only owned by certain countries” and that “we cannot simply say that this is yours and this is mine.”

Wait—can’t we? Isn’t the “this is yours and this is mine” mentality crucial to international cooperation and peace? A refusal to see that is dangerous and could send us down a dangerous path where sovereignty means very little.