No single country owns Antarctica. Instead, countries wishing to have a say in how the Antarctic (both the continent itself and the surrounding Southern Ocean) is governed must sign, and agree to abide by, the Antarctic Treaty. However, prior to the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, several countries had made claims to parts of Antarctica, some of which overlapped. The Treaty does not recognize these claims; Article IV of the Treaty states in part, “No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.” By avoiding the claims issue in this way, it was possible to produce a treaty that many parties could sign. Unfortunately, this means that while many countries follow the spirit of cooperation of the Treaty, there are still disputes over territory that remain unresolved and come up from time to time.