This Thursday, various parliamentarians and Chilean authorities traveled to Antarctica in a symbolic act of sovereignty, just days after Russia announced oil discoveries in the region. At noon, the members of the Defense Commission of the Lower House held a special session at the “Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva” Antarctic Air Base, due to the “prevailing geopolitical conditions.” The meeting was attended by the Minister of Defense, Maya Fernández, and the commander in chief of the Air Force, Hugo Rodríguez.
Parliamentary Presence
The parliamentarians who traveled to the Antarctic territory and are members of the Defense Commission include Francisco Undurraga (Evópoli), Miguel Ángel Becker (RN), Álvaro Carter (Ind), Camila Flores (RN), Luis Cuello (PC), Andrés Jouannet (Yellows), Cristhian Moreira (UDI) and Luis Sánchez (Republican). Also attending were Christian Araya (Republican), Gonzalo Winter (CS), Nelson Venegas (PS) and Marcela Riquelme (Ind), who are not part of the commission.
International Context
The meeting took place weeks after the Argentine president, Javier Milei, announced the construction of a military base in Patagonia with the participation of the United States, stating that such an installation “endorses our claim to Antarctica.” Added to this is a recent report from the British Parliament that revealed the discovery of a huge oil reserve in Antarctica by Russia, in an area claimed by Chile, Argentina and the United Kingdom. This discovery has generated concern, since there is an international treaty that prohibits any type of exploitation in the place, which has been supported by Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren and President Gabriel Boric.
Minister Fernández expressed that “Chile has an Antarctic location, we are a gateway and, obviously, the Antarctic Treaty, being one of the countries that signed initially, gives us a framework for what we all want, which is a territory of peace and science.”
The president of the commission, Francisco Undurraga, acknowledged that the latest events “have opened up some issues that concern us” and stressed that Chile will continue to defend that Antarctica “be a continent for peace and not for war, and that the treaty”. Furthermore, he stressed that during the session Chile’s will for the Antarctic Treaty was reaffirmed “in terms that this is a continent of peace, dedicated to science and not to be dismembered by a territorial fight.”
Representative Camila Flores described the meeting as “an act of sovereignty, protection and support for our national sovereignty in the face of any threat” and commented that they intend to “endorse the Antarctic Treaty, where Chile is one of the signatories and that in the year “In 2048 we will have to renew.” She added that “we have agreed to have a secret session to learn the details of the progress and implications of the MIA project.”
From Amarillos for Chile, deputy Andrés Jouannet stated that the reasons for the trip of the national parliamentarians are different from those of Argentina. “Our presence here has to do with the fact that we have different interests regarding Antarctica, our interests are scientific and they are peace,” he said. In relation to Russia’s unproven discovery, he indicated that “the Madrid protocol, which ratifies the Antarctic Treaty, in its article 7 states that all mining extraction is prohibited except for scientific purposes. So that has been the important thing about meeting here, because we have also ratified as a power of the State, those issues that Chile has ratified in these agreements and protocols regarding Antarctica.”
This trip underlines the importance of Antarctica for Chile and the firm defense of its scientific and peaceful interests in the region, at a time of growing geopolitical tension.
