The new memorandum replaces the one that was in force until now, which had been drafted in 1994, during the presidency of Bill Clinton (1993-2001).

The White House indicated, in a statement, that with the new memorandum the US wants to protect the environment of Antarctica, maintain the region as a centre for scientific research, preserve the continent as a zone of peaceful international cooperation and ensure the conservation of ecosystems.

Washington also noted, in the document, that to ensure the effectiveness of the current system governing Antarctica, "the United States will continue to use all available tools, including expanding the polar icebreaker fleet".

The United States, which has three research stations in Antarctica, indicated that thanks to the treaty system governing the region, it has been able to carry out "15 surprise inspections of facilities" located on the continent.

"We remain vigilant against actions by countries that could threaten US national interests by causing international discord in the Antarctic region," the White House assured.

The signing of the memorandum takes place days before the start of the 46th consultative meeting of the Antarctic Treaty, in India, on 20 May, which will be attended by the 12 countries that signed the agreement in 1959 (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and Russia), along with several dozen other countries.

Also this week, the Chilean government assured that it will "continue to firmly defend" the preservation of Antarctica, after it was announced that Russia had discovered vast reserves of oil and gas in territory claimed by Chile, Argentina and the United Kingdom.

"Unconfirmed news about mineral and hydrocarbon reserves in Antarctica occasionally emerges. The Antarctic regime prohibits their exploration and exploitation. And Chile, like other Antarctic countries, will continue to firmly defend the preservation of Antarctica," stressed the Chilean Foreign Minister, Alberto van Klaveren, in a post on the social network X.

The British newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph' reported this week that British MPs fear that Moscow will try to extract oil from part of that Australian territory.

The fear is based on the fact that, four years ago, the Russian geological agency Rosgeo recognised the studies of the Russian polar research vessel Alexander Karpinsky on the availability of around 70 billion tonnes of oil and gas buried under the Antarctic platform.

The reserves would contain around 511 billion barrels of oil, equivalent to around 10 times the production of the North Sea in the last 50 years, according to the British newspaper, cited by the Efe agency.

Read Also: This active volcano in Antarctica expels small gold crystals (Portuguese version)

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