Military activity in the Antarctic
Encyclopedia
Antarctic Treaty System
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land...
, which came into effect on June 23, 1961, bans military activity in Antarctica, military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose (such as delivering supplies) on the continent.
The Antarctic Treaty specifically prohibits military activity on land or ice shelves below 60°S. While the use of nuclear weapons is absolutely prohibited, the Treaty does not apply to naval activity within these bounds (in the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
) so long as it takes place on the high seas.
Notable operations
Military forces from many countries have provided support to scientific expeditions and bases in Antarctica. Notable operations and expeditions have included:- Commander James Cook's second voyage (United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, 1773) - USS Vincennes surveys of AntarcticaUSS Vincennes (1826)USS Vincennes was a 703-ton Boston-class sloop of war in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1865. During her service, Vincennes patrolled the Pacific, explored the Antarctic, and blockaded the Confederate Gulf coast in the Civil War. Named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes, she was...
(United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 1839 and 1840) - In February 1941 the German auxiliary cruiser KometGerman auxiliary cruiser KometKomet was an auxiliary cruiser of the German Kriegsmarine in the Second World War, intended for service as a commerce raider...
patrolled the Ross SeaRoss SeaThe Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.-Description:The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered...
and Antarctic coastline in an unsuccessful search for AlliedAllies of World War IIThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
whalersWhalerA whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early... - Operation TabarinOperation TabarinDuring World War II, Operation Tabarin was a small British military expedition launched from the UK in 1943 to the Antarctic to establish permanently occupied bases.-Reasons for the expedition:There were several reasons for Tabarin...
(United Kingdom, 1944–45) - Operation HighjumpOperation HighjumpOperation Highjump , officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946-1947, was a United States Navy operation organized by RADM Richard E. Byrd Jr. USN, , Officer in Charge, Task Force 68, and led by RADM Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding Officer, Task Force 68....
(United States, 1946–47) - Base Soberania (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1947) - Operation WindmillOperation WindmillOperation Windmill was the United States Navy's Second Antarctica Developments Project, an exploration and training mission to Antarctica in 1947–1948. This operation was a follow up to the First Antarctica Development Project known as Operation Highjump. The expedition was commanded by Commander...
(United States, 1947–48) - Base O'Higgins (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1948) - The Australian auxiliary HMAS Wyatt EarpHMAS Wyatt EarpHMAS Wyatt Earp was a motor vessel commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy from 1939 to 1945 and again from 1947 to 1948.-Early years:...
made an unsuccessful voyage to Antarctica in 1948. - Base González VidelaGonzález Videla Antarctic BaseGonzález Videla Base, on the Antarctic mainland's Waterboat Point in Paradise Bay, is named after Chilean President Gabriel González Videla, who in the 1940s became the first chief of state of any nation to visit Antarctica. The station was active from 1951-58, and was reopened briefly in the early...
(ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1951) - Base Aguirre Cerda (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1955) - Operation Deep FreezeOperation Deep FreezeOperation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
(United States, 1955–present) - Operación 90Operación 90Operación 90 was the first Argentine ground expedition to the South Pole, conducted in 1965, by ten soldiers of the Argentine Army under then-Colonel Jorge E. Leal. It was performed to attempt to cement Argentina's claims to a portion of Antarctica, as well as for scientific reasons and to perfect...
(ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, 1965) - Base Presidente Frei (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1980) - Operación Estrella Polar (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1984) - Operación Aurora Austral (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1996) - Estación Parodi (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 1999) - Expedición Hielo I (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 2002) - Expedición Hielo II (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 2004) - In January 2006 a Royal New Zealand Air ForceRoyal New Zealand Air ForceThe Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
P-3K OrionP-3 OrionThe Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
maritime patrol aircraft conducted a trial flight to and from Pegasus AirfieldPegasus blue ice runwayPegasus Field is an airstrip in Antarctica, the southernmost of three airfields serving McMurdo Station. Pegasus is a white ice runway capable of handling wheeled aircraft year-round...
near McMurdo StationMcMurdo StationMcMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
to determine the feasibility of conducting patrols from Antarctica in support of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living ResourcesConvention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living ResourcesThe Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the Antarctic Treaty System...
. RNZAF P-3Ks have regularly conducted flights to and from Antarctica since this successful trial.
Potential for future conflicts
John KeeganJohn Keegan
Sir John Keegan OBE FRSL is a British military historian, lecturer, writer and journalist. He has published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime, and intelligence warfare, as well as the psychology of battle.-Life and career:John...
and Andrew Wheatcroft, in their 1986 book 'Zones of Conflict: An Atlas of Future Wars', make the point that strategic interests in Antarctica derive from two causes: economic and strategic. Antarctica has great potential economic value, in terms of mineral and oil resources. Strategically, there was continuing concern about keeping the Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
route available for free passage during the Cold War, as, among other things, U.S. aircraft carriers cannot pass through the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. The Falkland Islands, Keegan and Wheatcroft go on to say, dominate the Drake Passage
Drake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
, the 'stretch of stormy water separating South America from the Antarctic'. This was a less publicised factor during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
However, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and increasing competition for fossil fuel resources, the 'economic' rather than the 'strategic' rationale is probably more important in the early twenty-first century.