§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to transfer use of the Adelaide base in Antarctica to Chile on the Chilean position in the review of the Antarctica treaty in 1991; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RentonArticle IV of the Antarctica treaty states, inter alia, that
no acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.The arrangements made with Chile over the use of the Adelaide base thus have no legal effect on the sovereignty positions of either the United Kingdom or Chile in Antarctica and would have no direct bearing on any future review of the treaty.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why he did not announce his decision to hand over the use of the Adelaide base to Chile by means of an oral statement in the House.
§ Mr. RentonCo-operation in both scientific and logistic activities is both regular and normal between Antarctic treaty consultative parties. There was, therefore, no requirement to inform the House of the new arrangements made for the use of the Adelaide station.