New satellite images from the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) show that China has restarted construction of a station in Antarctica. Construction paused for five years. Now the resumption in the West is causing concern.
The reason: China says it wants to open up new shipping routes and intensify research in Antarctica. But the West fears that the station south of Australia and New Zealand is primarily used for surveillance and espionage. As early as 2022, the US had suspected that China was expanding its influence in Antarctica in order to assert future claims to natural resources and have better access to the sea.
China is closing “a big gap”
The “CSIS” experts write in the report entitled “Frozen borders – China’s great power ambitions in the polar regions”, that China will “close a big gap” with the observatory on Inexpressible Island. According to CSIS, the satellite images from January show new research facilities, buildings, a helicopter landing pad and also a foundation for a large main building. There is also a possible landing stage for Chinese icebreakers. The station will ultimately cover 5000 square meters. It should be finished in 2024.
The devices would allow China to “intercept satellite communications from other countries,” the CSIS report said. Particularly in possible focus: Australia and New Zealand.
In principle, the more than 60-year-old Antarctic Treaty allows research facilities to be set up and military personnel to conduct research there. However, it is not allowed to set up military bases, practice maneuvers or test weapons. The United States still owns the largest research facilities in Antarctica. According to the CSIS experts, China itself has announced that it intends to become a “great polar power” by 2030.
