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Sam Bateman’s deep interest in security and the law of the sea inevitably led him to consider the geopolitical context of the vast region to Australia’s south, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. After all, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) provides a security and governance framework to Australia’s south that has directly impacted Australia’s defence posture, resource security, and its status as an Antarctic claimant state. Born from the tensions of the Cold War, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty,1 sets aside international argument over Antarctic sovereignty claims through the provisions of Article iv, that both protects the status of the seven sovereignty claims and provides accommodation for those states not recognising them. For Australia, this was a key feature of the treaty.2 The non-militarisation provisions of the treaty are also integral to Australia’s national security (see below), allowing Australia to focus its defence …