Chilean defense minister
visits South Pole
Chilean Defense Minister
Jose Goniand Air Force
chief of staff Gen.
Ricardo Ortega began a
visit to the South Pole
on Friday, declaring
that the use of Arturo
Prat naval base would be
formally resumed in
March 2008.
Goni said the resumption
of the use of the naval
base, along with another
two military bases in
the Antarctic region, is
to demonstrate the
presence and sovereignty
of Chile as well as the
country's support for
scientific research
projects.
He added the Chilean
military always abides
by the Antarctic Treaty,
and all its activities
in the Antarctic region
are for peaceful
purposes, mainly for
conducting scientific
research and protecting
the environment.
On Oct. 17, Britain
submitted a claim to the
United Nations to extend
its Antarctic territory
by 1 million square
kilometers, covering a
vast area of the seabed
around British
Antarctica near the
South Pole.
The claim on the seabed
caught the attention of
Argentina and Chile,
which are likely to make
overlapping claims in
the region.
The 1959 Antarctic
Treaty, to which Britain
is a signatory,
prohibits all
exploitation of oil, gas
and minerals in the
region, and the
Antarctic cannot be used
other than for
scientific research. The
Antarctic Treaty came
into force in 1961. |
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