Geo-Politics  

No Man's Land

by Steve Pendleton

There is one large area of land left on Earth that really is a no man's land, available for claim by anyone who wants it.

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Despite the rapacious expansion of nation-states in the last few centuries, there are still a few places on earth that have not been officially claimed. Some of these areas, known as no man's lands have been buffer zones between two hostile powers. Others lie in areas so remote as to be almost impossible to reach.

ome of these areas have been very small in size but very useful militarily. In World War I, no man's land was the area between the trenches of France — unlivable, but also valuable enough to waste millions of lives.

Today, most such no man's land territories make up narrow pieces of real estate dividing warring neighbors. Such zones exist — or have recently existed — in Bosnia, Beirut, Cyprus, and the DMZ between North and South Korea. After l948, a small area of land divided the Jewish and Jordanian sections of Jerusalem for about 20 years. Of course, living in these areas would be extremely unnerving, lying as they do under the cannon of two unfriendly nations.

Occasionally, land has been officially unclaimed pending settlement of a boundary treaty. This usually, but not always, happens when the land is unpopulated and not thought to have economic viability.

For many years, two large areas of the Middle East were unclaimed. They were known as the Neutral Territories. One was a diamond-shaped bit of desert between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, just west of Kuwait. The other was a rectangular area to the south of Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia. When oil was discovered, a treaty was signed dividing up the land.

However, there is one large area of land left on earth that really is a no man's land, yet does not serve as a buffer zone. Waiting nations are not exactly in line to claim it either.

Sounds like a possible paradise, doesn't it? A place subject to no nation's laws, because there's no nation there — or even nearby. A place with no military and no taxes.

Too good to be true? Gotta be a catch? Well, yes.

This land available for claim is part of Antarctica. This pie-shaped territory with the end of the wedge touching the South Pole is large enough to hide several states. Its eastern border is 90 degrees west longitude, the western edge of the Antarctic land claimed by Chile. The western boundary is 150 degrees west longitude, the eastern border of the Ross Dependency, claimed by New Zealand. The sheer size of this hunk of ice and rock is staggering. We're talking hundreds of thousands of square miles here.

With all this land available, why is there no nation's flag on it?

After all, the rest of the Antarctic has been claimed for years. Norway, Australia, France, and New Zealand have uncontested claims to various pie-shaped chunks of Antarctica. There are even claims on top of claims: On the Antarctic Peninsula, Chile, Argentina, and Great Britain all have claims that overlap.

These claims have been taken quite seriously. On several occasions there have been shots fired between the British and Argentineans, though there were no casualties.

There are several grounds on which a country can advance a claim of sovereignty. The historically accepted means of obtaining sovereignty is that the first nation to plant its flag on a piece of ground gets title to it. (Of course, this procedure often ignores the original residents.) In 1972, the Kingdom of Tonga made sure that its claim to the Minerva Reef — which is under water at high tide — was internationally recognized by sending an expedition to it. (By the way, why do you think the United States planted an American flag on the moon?)

The second way is by "effective possession" — the nation that settles a piece of land can claim it if no one else wants to fight over it. Several of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea have been occupied with this strategy in mind.

A third reason is the use of historic territorial claims. Chile and Argentina argue that their sovereignty over parts of Antarctica dates back to 1493, when neither country existed. In that year, by declaration of the pope, Spain and Portugal divided up the unknown world between them, which is why Portugal got Brazil and Spain got the remainder of South America. It also gave Spain claim to a portion of Antarctica, which Argentina and Chile inherited when Spain ceded its sovereignty over the southernmost parts of the Western Hemisphere after the revolutions of the early 19th century.

Another argument which, at least indirectly, encouraged the creation of the No Man's Land was one put forth by a Canadian lawyer in 1907. He argued that countries bordering the polar areas should be allowed to establish polar claims along meridians adjacent to their boundaries. A look at the map will show that Antarctica's No Man's Land is bordered on the north only by the open Pacific.

This argument reinforces the claims of Argentina and Chile, whose claims extend over territory that was not even known until quite recently. Norway claims Queen Maud Land on the coast of Antarctica, but does not claim the quadrant within its pie next to the Pole. To do so might injure claims Norway has in the North Polar regions.

There are two other ways of supporting land claims in the Antarctic. One is by whaling voyages in the l9th century. Many polar discoveries were made by these far-ranging sailors. Norway's claim, for example, is largely justified by the discoveries of its pelagic whaling fleets. The other is by establishing post offices in the Antarctic and issuing postage stamps. Great Britain was the pioneer of this process — Scott's expeditions in the early 1900s each had printed postage stamps for use by expedition members on the ice. Since 1944 Britain has issued stamps for its claims, which it first called the Falkland Islands Dependencies, and more recently the British Antarctic Territory.

Since the 1950s, France has issued postage for its French Southern and Antarctic Territories. Australia releases stamps for Australian Antarctic Territories (though they are valid throughout Australia). New Zealand releases Ross Dependency stamps, though it no longer maintains a post office within the territory. Many other nations, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Russia, and the United States to name a few, also release stamps to publicize their own Antarctic programs. That these stamps — and the post offices at the various bases — are used only by base scientists, tourists, and polar philatelists looking for souvenirs — is rather immaterial.

None of these territorial claims apply to No Man's Land. It is one of the least-visited, most inaccessible parts of the Antarctic. It is far from any other continent. Most research stations cluster on the Antarctic Peninsula, only a few hours' flight from South America.

It is also not as close to the South Pole as is the Ross Sea area. Thus, early explorers like Scott and Amundsen did not use the area as a jumping-off point for their dashes to the Pole.

Its coastline presents another problem. Sheer ice cliffs rise hundreds of feet straight out of the ocean, making landing extremely difficult. Also, at least in recent years, many such shelves have sheared off into state-sized icebergs. Another icy barrier is the sea pack. During winter the pack extends hundreds of miles north along the entire Antarctic coast, making winter shipping impossible. However, in the summer the pack retreats. In the Weddell Sea to the east of the Peninsula, and along the coast of the unclaimed land, however, the pack often lingers year-round.

What the pack does, of course, is make cruising in the Amundsen Sea (the geographical name for this area) quite dangerous, especially if your ship is not ice-hardened. In 1898, the Belgian explorer de Gerlache and his crew aboard the old sailing vessel Belgica were frozen in along this coast, and became the first men to withstand the rigors of an Antarctic winter. It proved to be a hellish experience. Many of the crew battled madness and depression. Not surprisingly, whaling ships and pole-racers avoided this region.

So it's easy to see why no nation has laid claim to this pie of snow and ice. However, one nation did keep an unofficial eye on the area and even gave the land a name — Marie Byrd Land.

In 1939, after two previous American expeditions to Antarctica, a third expedition under Adm. Richard Byrd's leadership went south. This group established two bases. One was at previously used Little America, on the Ross Ice Shelf to the west of Marie Byrd Land. The other was on Stonington Island off the Antarctic Peninsula.

On Nov. 25, 1939, President Roosevelt instructed Adm. Byrd that "expedition members . . . may take . . . steps such as dropping claims from airplanes, depositing writing in cairns, which might assist in supporting a sovereignty claim . . . no public announcements shall be made without specific authority of the Secretary of State."

One expedition member, Leonard Berlin, actually signed a document authorizing a U.S. claim. This paper was placed in a bottle and buried in a cairn on top of Mount Grace McKinley, within the boundaries of No Man's Land. Highly unofficial, but land claims have been won on less. The U.S. took additional similar actions during the fourth Byrd expedition, also known as Operation Highjump. This operated in the Antarctic during the 1946–7 summer season. Again, however, the U.S. made no formal claim, though many authorities assumed that such a claim had been made. Maps in well-known publications (e.g. "The Poles," Time-Life Books, 1966) show it as American territory.

Whether America had a valid claim became irrelevant when the U.S. signed the Antarctic Treaty, which took effect in 1961, whose signatories agreed to make no future claims to Antarctica so long as the treaty is in effect. So long as the treaty remains in force, its signatories (including most major nations and a number of other countries which have established Antarctic research stations) have agreed to a number of conditions. The treaty also specifies that no nation interfere with another's scientific station, a condition that was observed when two nations were otherwise at war — as the United Kingdom and Argentina were in 1982. The British Signy Island and the Argentine Islas Orcadas bases, both located in the lonely South Orkneys, maintained a peaceful distance during the disturbance. The United Kingdom did forcibly eject the Argentines from their Corbeta Uruguay base in the South Shetlands at the end of the war. However, this was on a sub-Antarctic island chain.

In practice, nations can build stations about anywhere they desire, aside from a few sensitive areas that have been declared off-limits because of their historical interest or to protect animal and plant life. Other than that, the ice is open ground.

No military weapons are allowed south of 60 degrees latitude. This applies to both land weapons and warships. (An exception is the armaments on icebreakers.) Warships are even forbidden to do target practice south of the line.

Military personnel, however, are often found in the Antarctic. That's because many scientific programs are run by a country's military. This is true of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and some others. The program of the United States relies on transport provided or aided by the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and National Guard.

According to the treaty, no new claims can be made during its life. Since no one has publicly claimed No Man's Land, it cannot now be claimed by those who have not signed the treaty.

However, the treaty's rule against claiming No Man's Land does not stop a country from constructing bases there. Such construction has certainly been popular around the rest of the continent — in the 1990s at least 26 nations had been involved in building bases, and a few bases were built in No Man's Land.

In 1957, prior to the treaty's taking effect, the United States constructed Byrd Station, at approximately 89 degrees south, 120 degrees west. This was an underground station, built almost at the South Pole. Until 1972 a small complement of scientists served year-round. They studied physics, meteorology, geophysics, and glaciology. Snow gradually began to crush the buildings and scientific demands diminished. The original base was closed, but summer-only activities continued at Byrd Surface Camp. Scientific research has also been continued in the Horlick Mountains and at Aurora Sub-Station. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have also conducted a number of exploratory voyages along the coastline.

In the 1970s, the Soviet Union established Russkaya Base on the No Man's Land coast. A more permanent camp was established in 1982. This was abandoned in the 1990s after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Both bases faced formidable supply problems. Byrd could be supported by air — an airstrip was hacked out of the ice — and by tractor trains. Russkaya could sometimes be supplied by ship, but the pack ice in its vicinity made this an iffy proposition.

Living in No Man's Land

Trying to live in No Man's Land would create some unique problems.

First, it would be a hugely expensive proposition. Everything — and I mean everything — necessary for a base to survive without outside aid for at least two years would have to be moved in. This would require an ice-strengthened vessel or some form of air transport.

Such vessels are available, and fairly cheaply. Redundant vessels from the old Soviet arctic fleet are available for charter. They are already used to haul tourists to the Antarctic. I have visited the Antarctic in one of these. While not luxurious, it was quite seaworthy, and the crew seemed to know their way around the ice.

Could a private organization negotiate the huge amount of preparation needed for a successful base? One already has. For several years Greenpeace supported a four-man (actually three-man, one-woman) base on Ross Island. This was in the face of opposition by the signatories of the treaty.

Such a base might possibly be a profitable venture. One way to earn money would be to sell chunks of shelf ice. Fresh water is in high demand in much of the world. Though not technologically feasible today, mining might eventually prove economical. Fishing for such resources as the Patagonian toothfish and krill might produce funds. Finally, such a base could issue its own postage stamps. The Greenpeace base did so for a number of years, though I doubt its profit amounted to much.

Several nations have established families at their bases. Villa las Estrellas at Eduardo Frei base (Chile) and Marambio base (Argentina) have seen families, schools, births — even a supermercado. These families have agreed to live in Antarctica for two year periods.

Of course, the worst enemy of any Antarctic venture is the weather. In No Man's Land the temperature varies from 0 degrees Celsius during a summer heat wave to -50 Celsius in the depths of winter. The wind is almost constant. It blows, sometimes at hurricane speed, down from the interior of the continent. During the darkness of winter, no plane or ship could reach the base. Anyone living in No Man's Land would be isolated six months of the year.

What would the legal status of No Man's Land settlers be? Those who man stations now are considered citizens of their home countries. No passports are needed by scientists or tourists to visit any of the claims. Nationals of any country can visit any of the stations. Luckily, most Antarcticans and visitors seem to be pretty law-abiding sorts, since there are no police or military forces within helping distance.

Practically speaking, should a group decide to settle No Man's Land, no one would be there to stop it. It is certainly doubtful that any country would initiate military action on the continent — after all, military action is prohibited by the Antarctic Treaty.

© Copyright 2008, Liberty Foundation

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