MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile announced funding for reopening of Antarctic base

Magallanes Region government, in the extreme south of Chile announced plans this week to reopen the “Arturo Prat” Antarctic base on Greenwich Island in Chile's Antarctic territory. The announcement follows a proposed application to the U.N. by the United Kingdom for the consolidation of contested maritime territories off the Antarctic coast

The base, which is located among the South Shetland Islands together with Chile's two other Antarctic bases, was shut down 5 years ago for lack of funding. But the Magallanes government, Chilean Navy and the Chilean Antarctic Institute (Inach) recently reached an agreement for its reopening and funding for the next 20 years. The Chilean Navy would oversee the manning of the base, thus significantly increasing Chile's presence in the area. Inach plans to send scientists and to set up a research laboratory on the base. "Magallanes can make an important contribution to strengthening our presence on the frozen continent," said Magallanes regional governor Eugenia Mancilla. The news comes as part of a cautious but rapid Chilean response to British plans to consolidate disputed sea territories in the area. The Law of the Sea Convention and the U.N. commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf contemplates claims from coastal countries on maritime territory up to 350km. Under this umbrella the UK is claiming sea bed rights off South Atlantic islands and off Antarctica. The British plan to use this opportunity to consolidate territory is contested by both Chile and Argentina. Although the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 was supposed to put an end to such territorial disputes, the UN commission on the continental shelf appears to have reopened the controversy. Chile said the approval of British claims would contradict Article Four of the Treaty, which states that no sovereignty claims will be established or new claims asserted while the treaty is in force. The Antarctic seabed is thought to hold large gas and oil reserves, although their recovery is a technological impossibility at this time, as well as being banned by the Antarctic Treaty until 2048. But the timetable deadline for presentations before the commission is May 2009. The U.N. commission's actions, however, have started a race for territory at both extremes of the planet - prompting the Russians to even plant their flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole. The Santiago Times