Antarctica covers some 14 million square kilometres (5.5 million square miles), or about 10 per cent of the world's land surface, and exceeds the combined extent of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. In 1912 Captain Robert Scott, standing at the South Pole, remarked that ‘this is an awful place’ and in this vein the cold and remote Antarctic region has often been dismissed as an insignificant ‘Pole apart’. Nevertheless, certain countries – most notably, Argentina, Chile and Britain – possess a long history of involvement therein, culminating in their participation in the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) over the past quarter of a century. Whether or not Antarctica constitutes anything other than a peripheral interest even for these countries remains questionable, but any appraisal needs to be considered in the light of the recent assertion of a study group (chaired by Sir Anthony Parsons, Britain's UN representative from 1979 to 1982) that, ‘as a factor in international relations, it [Antarctica] cannot be ignored any longer’.

The Antarctic scene

The ATS derived from the Antarctic Treaty, which was signed in December 1959 by the twelve governments – including Argentina, Britain, Chile, South Africa, the Soviet Union and the USA – involved in the region in 1957–8 during International Geophysical Year (IGY). This limited-purpose treaty came into effect in June 1961, and was designed to safeguard the peace and stability of Antarctica through international scientific co-operation, prohibitions upon military and nuclear activities and a freeze of the sovereignty question.