U.S.-Russia bid to keep Antarctica ‘in the club’

Press, 4 October 1984, Page 21

U.S.-Russia bid to keep Antarctica ‘in the club’

From

NIGEL HAWKES,

in New York

While the United States and the Soviet Union swap insults in public, in private they have been working together in an extraordinary effort to suppress discussion at the United Nations of the world’s last undeveloped continent — Antarctica.

The extent of this collaboration, which has gone largely unreported, is remarkable. Earlier this year, the two super-Powers even went to the extent of preventing publication of the United Nations's monthly journal, “U.N. Chronicle,” because it contained an article about last year’s general assembly debate on Antarctica.

The issue, due out in April, has still not appeared. Nor have any subsequent issues, although the row over the Antarctic article is said not to be the only reason. The super-Powers want to keep the lid on discussions of Antarctica because they are afraid it may become a rallying point for the “demagogues” of the Third World, upsetting the Antarctic Treaty, which has controlled Antarctica since 1959.

Both are treaty Powers, as are Britain and 13 other nations. The treaty makes odd bedfellows: it is an organisation in which the Soviet Union makes common cause with the United States, Argentina with Britain and in which everybody gets on with the international “pariah,” South Africa.

What worries the treaty Powers is that the large Third World bloc at the United Nations will succeed in declaring Antarctica part of the “heritage of all mankind” and subject to the same regime as the deep seabed. Such a move, lawyers have warned, would threaten the legal basis of the Antarctic Treaty, and unleash all sorts of tricky political problems. Not the least of these would be the overlapping claims to sovereignty over a large sector of Antarctica made by Britain, Argentina, and Chile. One of the great successes of the treaty has been to put these claims to one side. If it collapsed, some people fear that the territorial conflicts of the South Atlantic would spread to Antarctica, and might prove just as intractible.

Some even forsee the prospect of naval action to defend sovereignty claims.

The leading spirit behind moves to declare Antarctica the heritage of all mankind is the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Nobody knows quite why Dr Mahathir should have become so interested in the topic, since Malaysia is not exactly contiguous to Antarctica and has no history of exploration there. Some blame the Indian Prime Minister, Indhira Gandhi, for exciting Mahathir’s interest On a visit to Malaysia some years ago she is said to have raised the subject with him. Since then, India has joined the treaty Powers, so Mrs Gandhi is inside the club and no longer wants to rock the boat. Mahathir, however, once launched, has proved difficult to stop. Last year, he was supported by Antigua and by some African countries who resent the fact that 14 million sq km of the world’s surface should be controlled by a small self-chosen group. To counter this, the treaty Powers have been emphasising that the club is not exclusive but is open to anybody who conducts research in Antarctica. They say that is how India, and subsequently Brazil, became “consultative parties” under the treaty.

The treaty Powers emphasise that there is no intention of trying to seize the potential mineral wealth for themselves — surveys suggest that there is probably oil on Antarctica’s continental shelf — but that they are trying to work out a regime which will be open to all and which will not damage Antarctica’s fragile invironment.

As one observer of United Nations affaire put it: "It’s a very unusual situation when the United States and the Soviet Union are on the same side. And when that happens, its like a bulldozer coming down the street.” There might be fireworks over the issue. Many see it as the most interesting, as well as potentially the most explosive, subject at this year’s United Nations General Assembly. Copyright — London Observer Service.