Chile's president visited the South Pole on Friday with the aim of strengthening his country's territorial claims to parts of Antarctica, as competition in the region intensifies.
President Gabriel Boric and a delegation of officials visited Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a US research station. According to his office, this is the first time a sitting Latin American president has set foot on the frigid continent.
Borich described the visit as a “milestone” and a “confirmation of our sovereignty claims in this area.”
On the other side of the world, the Arctic is in the spotlight as climate change increases the region's importance to global trade, opens access to natural resources and intensifies military competition there. In contrast, Antarctica has received relatively little attention.
But more than a century after explorers raced to plant flags in the frigid polar deserts, countries are once again openly competing for influence in the region.
The area is managed by the Antarctic Treaty System, which stipulates that “Antarctica must be used only for peaceful purposes.” The Cold War-era agreement and subsequent agreements aimed to make Antarctica a demilitarized zone and control competing territorial claims.
The system has been largely successful in establishing international consensus on the region for decades, according to a 2023 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based research institute.
Many countries have established long-standing or new facilities to conduct scientific research in Antarctica, some of which could also be used to explore the strategic and commercial potential of the region. Competition to do so has quietly intensified in recent years and is likely to continue, the report says.
Although Antarctica's harsh environment and treaty system limit access to its resources, the region has a rich marine environment and potential reserves of oil, gas, and minerals. This wasteland is also a good place for countries to introduce technology for military use.
Russia is ramping up efforts to build monitoring stations for GLONASS, a version of the Global Positioning System that experts say also has military use. In 2015, at least three Russian bases were already operating in Antarctica.
China has announced plans to build a new satellite base in Antarctica in 2023, a project that also has potential military use.
The treaty bans mining in the area and protects small reserves of iron ore, coal and chromium. Although estimates vary widely, the region may also have vast oil and natural gas reserves. To the chagrin of environmentalists, China and Russia are pursuing deregulation of krill fishing.
Aspects of the treaty related to environmental protection are scheduled to be considered in 2048, but could be compromised by then.
Some signatories to the Antarctic Treaty have territorial claims, many of which overlap, while others do not recognize the territorial claims of other countries. Chile is one of the few countries that claims territory and has established a permanent settlement called Villa Las Estrellas.
In May 2024, Chile strengthened its territorial claims by meeting with defense officials in Antarctica as a symbol of sovereignty, amid tensions over Russia's geological survey report in the Weddell Sea, an Antarctic region off the southernmost coast of South America. I tried.
Simon Romero contributed reporting.
