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Image: The Western Brief
Source: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
Firstly, it’s important to understand that no country truly “owns” Antarctica in the normal sense. Australia claims around 42% of the continent, more than any other country. That area is known as the ‘Australian Antarctic Territory’ and stretches across a huge section directly south of Australia. Antarctica is instead governed by international rules that limit what countries can do there.
Australia sits directly north of Antarctica, separated by the Southern Ocean. This close geography helps explain why Australia has such a strong interest in the continent.
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Why Do Countries ‘Claim’ Antarctica?
Source: Discovering Antarctica. Graphic adapted and redesigned by The Western Brief.
In the early 1900s, Antarctica had no permanent population or government, so countries began exploring, mapping and establishing bases there. Some then claimed parts of the continent, often based on their exploration, historical activity or geographic links to the region.
Today, seven countries have territorial claims in Antarctica: Australia, Argentina, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. Some of these claims even overlap. One large area, Marie Byrd Land, remains unclaimed because no country formally claimed it before the Antarctic Treaty froze new claims in 1959. Today, no country can legally make a new claim there while the treaty remains in force.
The problem is that not every country recognises these claims. To stop Antarctica becoming a competition for territory, countries agreed to the ‘Antarctic Treaty’ in 1959. It allowed existing claims to remain, but effectively froze the situation, meaning countries could not expand their claims or create new ones.
That is why Antarctica is so unusual. Countries claim parts of it, but the continent is still managed through shared international rules rather than being divided up like normal territory.
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Why Does Antarctica Matter to Australia?
Antarctica matters to Australia partly because it sits directly to our south and plays a major role in the climate system around us. The continent is covered by an enormous ice sheet, which stores a huge amount of the world’s fresh water. When ice that is sitting on land melts and flows into the ocean, it adds more water to the sea and causes global sea levels to rise. That matters for Australia because higher sea levels increase the risk of flooding and erosion in coastal communities.
There is also a strategic reason Australia cares about the continent. Australia wants Antarctica to remain peaceful and focused on science rather than becoming an area where countries compete militarily. Australia also wants to protect its long standing claim over the Australian Antarctic Territory and maintain a strong voice in decisions about how Antarctica is managed.
Antarctica also has an economic connection to Australia. Hobart is one of the main gateways to East Antarctica, meaning research teams, ships, equipment, food and other supplies regularly travel through Tasmania on their way south. This supports jobs and businesses involved in shipping, logistics, science and Antarctic research.
So for Australia, Antarctica is not simply a distant frozen continent. What happens there can affect our coastlines, our weather, our security, our scientific research and parts of our economy.
From the History Books
In 1911, Australian explorer Douglas Mawson led an expedition to Antarctica to map and study huge areas that were still largely unknown. During one journey, both of Mawson’s companions died, leaving him to travel hundreds of kilometres back to base alone in brutal conditions. He survived, and the expedition went on to map large sections of East Antarctica. Those expeditions helped strengthen Australia’s historical connection to the region and later supported the creation of the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Image: Alistair Mackay, T.W. Edgeworth David and Douglas Mawson, standing left to right, at the South Magnetic Pole, Antarctica, 16 January 1909. State Library of New South Wales / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. (This image is from an earlier expedition in 1909, before Mawson’s later journey in which Belgrave Ninnis and Xavier Mertz died.)
One Last Thing
What I find most interesting about Antarctica is that countries have managed to share it under common rules, despite competing interests. As global competition grows, Antarctica could become a real test of whether that cooperation can last.
I’m Mahir, a Perth based Master of International Law and Master of International Relations student. I created The Western Brief to explain global affairs clearly and explore what they mean for Australia.
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