Malaysia Accedes To 1959 Antartic Treaty

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia officially became a member of the Antarctic Treaty Pact following the deposition of the instrument of accession to the Antarctic Treaty on Oct 31, 2011, the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said in a statement here on Wednesday. It said the document was deposited by the Embassy of Malaysia in Washington DC to the US State Department, through Diplomatic Note. The statement said the depository of the instrument signifies the Government of Malaysia’s formal accession to the Antarctic Treaty as a non-consultative party. This makes Malaysia the first country from ASEAN and the 49th country to join the Antarctic Treaty. The accession allowed the country to take part in the decision-making process at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), the statement said, adding that it also enabled Malaysia to conduct its own scientific expeditions to Antarctica and establish its own research base in the future. Wisma Putra said Malaysia hoped that the accession to the Antarctic Treaty would enhance the country’s current scientific research efforts to a whole new level and allow findings made by Malaysian researchers in Antarctica to be patented. "This bodes well with the general trend of a steady increase of awareness on Antarctica among the local scientists which is translated into the increasing number of applications to conduct researches in the continent," the statement said. Since July 2008, Malaysia became a member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), a committee of the International Council of Science (ICSU) that is in charge of the initiation, promotion and co-ordination of scientific research in Antarctica. Thus far, over 60 scientific expeditions involving Malaysian researchers have been conducted since 1997, when New Zealand opened its Scott Base to Malaysian scientists. These include 24 research studies in biological and physical sciences, under the supervision of the Malaysian Antarctic Research Program (MARP), a task force set up by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for research in Antarctica. Wisma Putra said the Antarctic environment and climate had a direct link with, and impact on global environment and climate change. "These are of paramount importance to Malaysia as a tropical country vis-à-vis global warming. These are also some of the key areas of ongoing and future scientific research by Malaysian scientists which are in line with the National Climate Change policy," it said. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on Dec 1 1959 by 12 countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Years (IGYs) of 1957 and 1958. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded to by 48 nations. The treaty sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve; freedom of scientific investigation; and bans on military activity on that continent. Since 2002, Malaysia has been invited by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCP) to observe their meetings. Malaysia officially announced its intention to join the Antarctica Treaty on Aug 24 2011. "It is the Government of Malaysia’s hope that Malaysia will be invited as a full Consultative Party to the upcoming Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in Hobart, Australia in June 2012," the statemen added. -- BERNAMA