Chile's president traveled to the South Pole on Friday to bolster his country's territorial claims to part of Antarctica, as competition in the region continues to grow.
President Gabriel Boric and a delegation of officials visited the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a US research base; his office for the first time he saida sitting Latin American president setting foot on the freezing continent.
Mr. Boric called this visit “a remarkable event” and “confirmation of our claim of sovereignty in this area.”
At the other end of the world is the Arctic Notice has been issued climate change is making the region more important to global trade, opening up access to its natural resources and intensifying military competition there. Antarctica, by contrast, has remained relatively under the radar.
But more than a century after explorers raced to plant flags in the frigid Arctic desert, countries have once again begun an open struggle for influence in the region.
The area is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System mandates “Antarctica will be used only for peaceful purposes”. The Cold War-era pact and subsequent agreements aimed to make Antarctica a demilitarized zone and manage competing territorial claims.
Over the decades, the system has managed to build an international consensus for the region by 2023. report From the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based research institute.
Many nations have long-established or new facilities conducting scientific research in Antarctica, some of which may also be used to explore the region's strategic and commercial potential. The competition to do so has quietly intensified in recent years and looks set to continue to do so, according to the report.
Antarctica's harsh environment and treaty system have limited access to its resources, but the region has a rich marine environment and potential reserves of oil, gas and minerals. The effective landscape is also a good place for countries to deploy technology with military applications.
It is in Russia increased efforts to build monitoring stations for GLONASS, a version of the Global Positioning System specialists they say there is also a military use. At least three Russian stations were already operating in Antarctica in 2015.
China announced in 2023 plans Another project with potential military applications is building new satellite stations in Antarctica.
The agreement prohibits mining in the region, protecting small reserves of iron ore, coal and chromium. Estimates vary widely, but the region may also contain large reserves of oil and natural gas. Environmentalists are worried about China and Russia follows relax restrictions on krill fishing.
Facets The agreement, which covers environmental protection, will be up for review in 2048, but could be terminated before then.
Some signatories to the Antarctic Treaty have also made territorial claims – some overlapping – while others do not recognize the territorial claims of other countries. Chile is one of the few countries to lay claim to the territory, and it has installed A permanent settlement called Villa Las Estrellas.
Chile sought to bolster its territorial claims by holding a meeting with defense officials in Antarctica in May 2024 as a symbol of sovereignty. tension He said that Russia is conducting geological research in the Weddell Sea, the Antarctic region at the southernmost tip of South America.
Simon Romero contributed to the report.