Australia declares China's plan for Antarctic conduct has 'no formal standing'

Updated

Australia's Government has deflated China's ambition to manage the summit of the Antarctic ice sheet, an area within Australia's Antarctic claim.

Key points: China wants to administer an area deep inside Australia's Antarctic claim

Beijing's proposal for a code of conduct at "Dome A", a high point on the continent, was discussed this month in Prague

Australia's Government has declared China's draft code has "no formal standing" within the Antarctic Treaty System

Countries involved in Antarctic affairs met in the Czech Republic this month for their annual diplomatic get-together, and China's proposal was the subject of discussions.

The bid from China to implement a code of conduct at "Dome A" — some 4,000 metres above sea level — was not supported by Australia.

Dome A has been recognised as perhaps the best location for space observation on Earth due to its high elevation and outstanding visibility.

China's draft code tabled at the meeting "has no formal standing in the Antarctic Treaty System", according to a statement by a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson provided to the ABC.

In Antarctica multiple nations sometimes access the same areas for science. One nation or a group of nations take on responsibility for how this occurs.

China's proposed code is the latest attempt by Beijing to manage activity in this remote location. China is the only nation with a base in the area.

It originally proposed a "specially managed area" five years ago to protect the local environment and coordinate activities in this region.

But after failing to win over Antarctic nations, China replaced that proposal with a draft code of conduct two years ago.

Following this month's meeting in Prague, that too appears to have hit a dead end.

"Australia has consistently argued that any code proposed by China cannot bind third countries," DFAT's spokesperson said.

A report submitted by China at the meeting "expressed its regret that it still seems difficult to develop a [code of conduct] which would satisfy everyone after its many efforts for years".

The Antarctic Treaty requires consensus among nations before new administrative measures, such as codes of conduct, can be implemented.

Antarctic Treaty meetings are closed to media and the positions of nations on individual issues are rarely revealed.

Debate over sovereignty

Anne-Marie Brady, a polar politics researcher from the University of Canterbury who was in Prague, said China argued its code of conduct applied only to Chinese personnel, "but the stipulations parallel what was in their original proposal".

"Any new governance initiative is watched closely by other Antarctic states in case it sets a precedent, so there would have been concerns about the potential of the code of conduct at the recent [meeting] in Prague," she said.

DFAT's spokesperson confirmed that "China is, nonetheless, entitled to establish self-regulatory guidance for its own activities in the Dome A area".

Don Rothwell, professor in international law at ANU, said a code of conduct that sought to apply to anyone other than Chinese scientists and support staff would be seen as an assertion of sovereignty.

"This is not only inconsistent with the Antarctic Treaty but also Australia's underlying claim to the Australian Antarctic Territory," he said.

"Australia would be alarmed by any Chinese attempt to establish a basis for asserting a future Antarctic territorial claim."

Australia maintains a claim to 42 per cent of Antarctica based on its endeavours early in the 20th century, although the claim is not recognised by most other nations. The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, froze all territorial claims.

However Tony Press, former head of the Australian Antarctic Division, claimed on Friday that Dome A's location within the Australian Antarctic Territory was irrelevant to negotiations over the code.

"I have worked on Antarctic matters for two decades, and Australia's views on Dome A are not framed by Australian officials in terms of sovereignty," he wrote in Lowy Institute publication The Interpreter.

"At the 2019 Antarctic Treaty meeting in Prague in June, China engaged constructively in many areas of work.

"I believe it is possible to work through differences of views and reach consensus on problematic issues, but that takes trust."

Australian researchers have worked with colleagues from China at the remote Kunlun station since it was established in 2009.

Kunlun is 1,250 kilometres from China's coastal station Zhongshan, near Australia's Davis Station.

In preparation for construction of Antarctica's first paved runway for year-round aviation access near Davis Station, Australia is using a team that includes two Army ground survey personnel.

Topics: government-and-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, international-law, international-aid-and-trade, australia

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