Summarised by Centrist
China has just completed building its third Antarctic base in a decade- directly south of Wellington. Pundits in Western countries fear China will dishonour the longstanding Antarctic Treaty, or even use its Southern Ocean bases during future wars.
Concerns are mounting that China’s activity in Antarctica is more about exploiting resources than supporting conservation and the principles of the Antarctic Treaty. This is after China completed the Qinling base on Inexpressible Island – due south from New Zealand.
Washington-based International Strategic Studies Association President Gregory Copley highlights the astonishing proliferation of Chinese bases in Antarctica. This is despite the ethos of restraint, conservation and research in the 1959 Antarctic Treaty- the bible by which 30 countries operate a total of 82 bases. New Zealand is an original signatory.
Alarm bells rang in many countries as China sent its biggest Antarctic fleet and more than 460 personnel to the site to help complete Qinling station in November 2023.
Copley says China setting up operations in Chilean and Argentinean sub-antarctic territory, “could unravel Antarctica’s special status.”
He writes that “communist China does not see Antarctica in isolation, but as a component of its global—and globalist—projection.”
