Office of the Historian

305. Memorandum From the Head of the Delegation to the Conference on Antarctica (Phleger) to the Secretary of State1

Washington, November 4, 1959.

[Here follows the record of decisions taken at the Heads of Delegation meeting on November 4.]

The Committee of the Whole met at 3:00 p.m. and resumed discussion of the joint Australian-Argentine proposal regarding detonations of nuclear devices of a nonmilitary nature. The UK expressed its approval of the Australian-Argentine proposal and disagreed with the Soviet statement made yesterday to the effect that either total prohibition of all nuclear detonations or total elimination of an article on this subject would be acceptable. The Soviet proposal, it claimed, would prevent any nuclear detonations for peaceful scientific use.

Referring to the two alternatives suggested by the Soviet Union, Australia stated that it would be unwilling to sign a treaty which made no mention of this question. Japan, Norway and France supported the Australian-Argentine proposal. Argentina said that while it opposed nuclear testing in Antarctica this did not mean that practical, peaceful application of nuclear energy should be banned.

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The Soviet Union stated the purpose of its proposal was to secure the use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only and that the Soviet Union had no intention of carrying out any nuclear experiments in Antarctica. It agreed that the use of atomic energy in Antarctica for peaceful purposes should not be prohibited but said that it was very difficult even for specialists to determine the difference between a military and a nonmilitary nuclear detonation; ambiguous statements which would undermine Article I and jeopardize one of the basic purposes of the treaty should be avoided.

Chile expressed its agreement with the Soviet Union and suggested that the proposal be divided into two parts: a clear prohibition of nuclear testing in Antarctica; and authorization to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes when approved by the high contracting parties.

For the U.S. Representative:

Wayne W. Fisher
Secretary
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 399.829/11–459. Confidential. Drafted by Fisher.↩