Antarctic Treaty

Antarctic Treaty

Summary:

The Antarctic Treaty internationalized and demilitarized the Antarctic continent and provided for its cooperative exploration and future use. The treaty served as a model for later "nonarmament" treaties -- the treaties that excluded nuclear weapons from outer space, from the seabed, and from certain geographic regions.

The treaty provides that Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. It specifically prohibits "any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, as well as the testing of any type of weapons." Military personnel or equipment, however, may be used for scientific research or for any other peaceful purpose. Nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste material in Antarctica are prohibited, subject to certain future international agreements on these subjects.

For more in-depth information, please consult the Inventory of Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes, which can be found on the CNS website at: http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/.

China and the Antarctic Treaty:

China is a participant as a Consultative Party in the Antarctic Treaty, having acceded to the Treaty in 1983. China gained its status of Consultative Party in 1985.

[Sources: Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes, 1996-1997 edition; Walter C. Clemens, Jr., "China," in Richard Dean Burns, ed., Encyclopedia of Arms Control and Disarmament, Vol. 1, p. 67]

[TEXT OF ANTARCTIC TREATY]

For other non-armament treaties, see the following pages:

[CHINA AND THE SEABED ARMS CONTROL TREATY]

[CHINA AND THE OUTER SPACE TREATY (OST)]

[CHINA AND NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONES (NWFZ)]

Also see:

[CHINA AND NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT/ARMS CONTROL]

[CHRONOLOGY OF NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT/ARMS CONTROL-RELATED STATEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS]

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.