THE SPITZBERGEN ARCHIPELAGO (Hansard, 14 March 1978)

§ Lord KENNET

asked Her Majesty's Government, in relation to the Spitzbergen Archipelago:

(a) whether in their view the islands of the Spitzbergen Archipelago generate a continental shelf, and if so whether the regime established for the islands operates on the continental shelf;
(b) whether the islands of the Spitzbergen Archipelago generate an exclusive fishery zone; if so, to whom it is exclusive, and if not where responsibility for fishery management and protection in those waters lies;
(c) whether they recognise the median line or the sectoral principle in the matter of settling limits to Norwegian and Soviet sovereignty

(i) on the seabed, and
(ii) in the waters of the Barents Sea;

(d) whether they have any views on the recent provisional delimitation of fishery rights between Norway and the Soviet Union in the Barents Sea; and if so, what they are and to whom they have been expressed;
(e) what is NATO's role in the Barents Sea and what delimitations NATO observes in the provisional joint Norwegian/Soviet fishery zone;
(f) what information they have about the talks between the Norwegian government and the Soviet Government on the subjects of Spitzbergen and the Barents Sea which were opened when a Soviet Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived in Oslo on 3rd January; and whether bilateral talks are compatible with the "principle of absolute equality" established by the Treaty of Paris;
(g) what maritime, industrial, mining, commercial or research activities British nationals have undertaken on the land and in the territorial waters of the Spitzbergen Archipelago in the last ten years, and whether these activities have included the erection of a private "wireless telegraphy installation"; and
(h) what maritime, industrial, mining, commercial or research activities nationals of other signatory States (and of which) have undertaken on the land and in the territorial waters of the Spitzbergen Archipelago in the last ten years; and whether these activities have included the erection of a private "wireless telegraphy installation".

§ The MINISTER of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)

(a) It is the view of Her Majesty's Government that the Spitzbergen Archipelago has its own continental shelf. Whether or not the 1355WA economic regime established for the islands by the 1920 Treaty of Paris should also apply to the continental shelf areas appertaining to the Spitzbergen Archipelago is an unresolved question between Norway and the other Treaty Powers.

(b) It is the view of Her Majesty's Government that the islands of the Spitzbergen Archipelago are entitled to fishery rights in the surrounding waters on the same basis as any other island archipelago. Any suggestion that the fisheries rights in a Spitzbergen zone should be exclusive to Norway would raise issues very similar to those relating to the continental shelf mentioned above. Responsibility for fishery management and protection in the waters around the Spitzbergen Archipelago lies with Norway.

(c) Under international law, the maritime boundaries in the Barents Sea, whether on the continental shelf or in the superjacent waters, are to be established by agreement between Norway and the Soviet Union. In the view of Her Majesty's Government, the applicable rules of international law support the use of median line principles for the establishment of maritime boundaries.

(d) Her Majesty's Government welcome the establishment by agreement between Norway and the Soviet Union of provisional arrangements for fishery management in the Barents Sea under which third country vessels, including those of the United Kingdom, may continue to fish in the area. The Government of Norway has been made aware of these views.

(e) NATO is concerned with the security of the whole North Atlantic area, including the Barents Sea. So far as the provisional joint Norwegian/Soviet fisheries zone is concerned, NATO has no locus standi in bilateral or economic agreements entered into by its Member States. Warships of NATO navies conduct themselves in accordance with established international law and practice regarding passage through waters subject to territorial or other demarcation. Movements of NATO vessels are not affected by the provisional joint Norwegian/Soviet Fisheries Zone.

1356WA

(f) Her Majesty's Government are in regular contact with the Norwegian Government on a wide range of subjects of mutual interest, including the Norwegian Government's dealings with the Soviet Union. Bilateral talks on the subject of Spitzbergen are compatible with the principle of absolute equality established by the Treaty of Paris. Her Majesty's Government understand, however, that the talks to which the noble Lord refers did not in fact relate primarily to Spitzbergen.

(g) and (h) The information sought by the noble Lord is available in Report No. 39 to the Norwegian Storting, a copy of which (in the official abridged English translation) has been made available in the Library. In addition to the information published in that report, Her Majesty's Government understand that:

(1) coal and uranium exploration has been carried out as a joint venture by the Norwegian Arctic Exploration Company and the West German firm Urangesellschaft;
(2) petroleum exploration on the land mass of the Spitzbergen Archipelago has been undertaken by AMOSEAS (a consortium of the United States oil companies Caltex and Texaco), and Petrofina (Belgian), in addition to that by Arktigukol (Soviet) mentioned in the report;
(3) further research projects have been carried out by four American universities.

So far as Her Majesty's Government are aware, both the Soviet and Norwegian communities on Spitzbergen have their own wireless telegraphy links with their respective mainlands. A variety of companies and research entities (but, to the best of Her Majesty's Government's knowledge, no British ones) have established wireless telegraphy stations in accordance with Article 4 of the Treaty of Paris.

House adjourned at seventeen minutes before midnight.