Argentina strongly protests UK’s naming Queen Elizabeth land in Antarctica

Argentina strongly protested on Friday Britain's decision to name a vast swath of Antarctica as Queen Elizabeth Land. The Foreign ministry handed a formal protest note to British Ambassador John Freeman in Buenos Aires.

The naming is contrary to the spirit of peace and cooperation of the Antarctic Treaty argues Argentina

In the note the Argentine government recalls the country’s categorical rejection to all British territorial pretension in Antarctica and reaffirms its rights over what it describes the Argentine Antarctic Sector.

The note rejects London's claim since 1908 to a chunk of Antarctic known as the British Antarctic Territory, and it criticizes what Argentina calls Britain's “imperialistic ambitions going back to ancient practices” and contrary to the spirit of peace and cooperation of the Antarctic Treaty.

Argentina has long claimed as its own the land named after the British monarch this week. That area is about a third of the British Antarctic Territory.

The protest note reiterates Argentina’s commitment to the values and principles of the Antarctic Treaty System based on peace, science, international cooperation and the protection of the environment, and underlined that Article IV of the treaty safeguards the positions of the parties in affairs referring to sovereignty claims in Antarctica.