Chile, Argentina legislators meet in Antarctica

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Posted on Thursday, 03.05.09
Chile, Argentina legislators meet in Antarctica
The Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Lawmakers from Chile and Argentina are meeting in Antarctica to speak with a common voice against Britain's claim to oil and gas in the southernmost seas.

Chilean Congressman Renan Fuentealba says the South American countries support a 1959 treaty protecting the icy continent's fragile environment.

Chile, Argentina and Britain all claim rights over the same areas of Antarctica, which is important for more than the few scientists who live and work there: An international treaty says each nation can exploit undersea resources for hundreds of miles off their territory.

A United Nations commission will decide the issue by May.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/934581.h...

[Judi Lynn]

1. Chile, Argentina battle British in Antarctica

Chile, Argentina battle British in Antarctica


March 5, 2009 2:36 PM

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Lawmakers from Chile and Argentina met in Antarctica Thursday, preparing to speak with a common voice against Britain's claim to oil and gas in the southernmost seas.

Chile, Argentina and Britain all claim rights over the same slices of the southernmost continent. This is important for more than the few scientists who live and work in Antarctica, since under a U.N. treaty, coastal countries can control hundreds of miles of continental shelf off their soveriegn territories.

Claims involving Antarctica were tabled for 50 years under a 1959 treaty protecting the icy continent's fragile environment. But the offshore rights have become much more important recently given the global race to secure future energy sources. With the undersea resources in mind, 11 countries have made claims over parts of Antarctica.

The UN's Convention of the Law of the Sea would expand each coastal nation's sovereignty over its continental shelf from 230 miles to 380 miles off shore. But the claims must first be approved by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which faces a May deadline to announce its decisions.

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