London, Aug 28 (Xinhua) Britain Wednesday formally presented its territorial claim over south Atlantic Ascension Island to the UN.The Island is already part of the British overseas territory of St Helena.

According to international law, countries have rights over their resources, including oil and gas reserves, up to 200 nautical miles from the shoreline.

Britain said the island’s landmass reaches much further underwater, BBC reported.

The success of its claim would depend whether it could prove that fact scientifically, the report said.

Fight for control of the world’s sea-bed has intensified in recent years as new technology makes any reserves of oil and gas much more accessible.

However, as fewer than half of the world’s maritime boundaries have been agreed, experts believe there might be more conflicts over areas where more than one country stakes claim to overlapping areas.

Britain submitted a joint claim with France, Spain and the Irish Republic in 2006 for the continental shelf in part of the Bay of Biscay.

It is reportedly also considering a claim around the Falkland Islands, where it is thought to have oil and gas reserves, and a joint claim (Iceland, Ireland and Denmark) in the Hattan-Rockall area, off the west coast of Scotland, in North East Atlantic, according to the report.