Antarctica: Science and Diplomacy

Martin Docherty-Hughes Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2020 Westminster Hall

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I thank the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (James Gray)—perhaps I should call him my neighbour, given that he is a Glaswegian—for securing this debate. The work that he, as a member of the all-party parliamentary group for the polar regions, has done to bring the House’s attention to Arctic and Antarctic matters is invaluable. As a member of the Defence Committee in the last Parliament, I was delighted that we were able to publish the work of the Defence Sub-Committee that he did so much to set up during his time on the Committee.

As is usual in debates on the polar regions instigated by the hon. Gentleman, there has been a lot of agreement. I will address three areas: the profound challenge of climate change in the polar regions, the value of scientific research-based evidence in developing policy responses to challenges in those regions, and the existing and developing defence and security challenges in the polar regions. In his intervention about China and the Antarctic, it was interesting to hear that there is a belief that the People’s Republic of China will continue to support the treaty, and I am glad to hear that. Nevertheless, I am concerned, being an observer in the Arctic Council, that there has been some dubiety about China’s support of that council in the northern polar region, and we need to keep our eye on that.

As the rest of the planet has seen the return of a geopolitical competition that we thought was over, it is important to restate for everyone listening that the type of co-operation fostered by the 1961 Antarctic treaty is not an anachronism, but an example of the rules-based order to which we should all aspire. I look forward to the Minister reiterating the Government’s commitment to the treaty’s aims and aspirations. I see a lot of positive nodding coming from the Minister.

However, that does not mean that we should not be cognisant of the changes that have taken place in the past half century. Environmental concerns have come to the fore. Losing 3 trillion tonnes of the ice sheet is not just a symptom of global heating; it encourages the usual suspects to ponder the potential of what lies beneath. Whether those resources are mineral or animal, we would be foolish to think that there was not already a quiet gold rush under way—fostered, I think, by greed rather than by necessity. Even the strictures of the 1961 treaty allow some limited economic activity. We need to get the balance right, with a real emphasis on preserving the pristine nature of the Antarctic landscape. I think I might be the only Member in this debate who has never been to either of the polar regions.

[Thangam Debbonaire]

I have not.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes]

The hon. Lady has not either, but her family all seem to be going. The hon. Member for North Wiltshire was clear about the challenges posed by tourism. The Antarctic landscape can be the best friend of environmental campaigners by provoking a real interest in broader environmental and conservation issues, but that increased interest has started something of a tourist boom in the Antarctic, which could put real pressure on the pristine environment if managed incorrectly. We have not often seen that dilemma.

What can be done? I sometimes worry that there is an inverse relationship between our level of agreement on issues in this place and the seriousness with which they are taken by Her Majesty’s Government. For example, in the broader security debates—in which the hon. Member for North Wiltshire and I often take part—although we all generally agree that the current spending and strategic path this Government are on will cause real problems in the near future, defence and security continue to slip down the agenda and were barely mentioned during the election. I hope that the hon. Gentleman would agree.

I will sound one discordant note. Although it is precisely on issues such as the Antarctic treaty that the United Kingdom should choose to define itself as a reliable and active partner for the rules-based order, I can only wonder whether this will be yet another area where a lack of a coherent worldview will impede that resolve. The Foreign Secretary is giving a statement as we speak, and I may fundamentally disagree with him if it contains a positive for a certain investment in the Communist party of the People’s Republic of China, which has specifically stated that China now defines itself—rightfully or wrongfully—as a polar-region power. We all know the stories of the derring-do that have defined the UK’s historic relationship with the most inaccessible of places, but we cannot escape the fact that those adventures were undertaken at a time when these islands of the north Atlantic had a much surer idea of where they were going.

As a Scottish constituency MP, it would be inappropriate not to remark on the contribution that Scots have made to Antarctic exploration, which I was reminded of when my colleagues and I had our post-election photocall next to RRS Discovery in Dundee. As the most northerly nation of the United Kingdom, we know a thing or two about the polar regions, and I hope the Government will engage with the Scottish Government on their Arctic strategy. I look forward to the Minister reiterating the UK Government’s commitment to the principles of the 1961 treaty, and I thank the hon. Member for North Wiltshire for securing this debate.