A ROW is sure to flare up in The Hague this month. The Argentinian delegation
to the Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting wants Britain to lift its
“unofficial reservation” on the proposal that the secretariat for the Antarctic
Treaty should be based in Buenos Aires. I understand that the British government
is resolutely opposed to it. However, according to John Battle, the Foreign
Office minister, the only matter on the agenda for discussion by the
consultative meeting is the report of the Committee for Environmental
Protection. No discussion of the secretariat has been tabled, he says.
It is little wonder…
