Antarctica
What are China’s long-term Antarctic ambitions?
The recent opening of China’s Qinling base, its third permanent Antarctic station, has worried some Australian and American observers. Their concerns suggest it may be time…
Antarctic diplomacy and the critical role of inspection mechanisms
Traditionally, the international legal framework governing the Antarctic region – the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) – has been insulated from the impact of geopolitical conflict…
China has a fifth station in Antarctica
China’s new Antarctic station, Qinling, has been greeted with alarm in several recent articles. Some concern and watchfulness is warranted, but strategic panic is not. Given the…
A jurisdiction over the high seas
During a summer break, The Interpreter will feature selected articles each day from throughout the past year. Normal publishing will resume 15 January, 2024. This article first…
Charting new paths for Antarctic protection despite China’s resistance
Calls to renegotiate the agreements that govern the Antarctic, out of frustration at China’s and Russia’s opposition to establishing new areas for protection, would only put at…
Krill campaign less than thrilling
Sea Shepherd, the environmental activist group renowned for taking on Japanese whalers in remote waters around Antarctica, has a new target. Its latest campaign is against krill…
The end of Antarctic exceptionalism?
Moscow’s latest invasion of Ukraine has turned Vladimir Putin’s Russia into a pariah state, essentially overnight, and seen the country saddled with an unprecedented international…
Not so quiet on the Southern Front
Antarctica, as one of the largest shared spaces on the planet, represents an emerging nexus of geostrategic competition. Australia may have reason to be troubled by this. As a…
Cold front: Antarctica and its military future
Book Review: The Future of Antarctica: Scenarios from Classical Geopolitics, by J McGee, D Edmiston and M Haward (Springer, 2022)
For a place that is agreed by treaty to be used…
Opportunity lost: Australia’s Antarctic aerodrome cancelled
The Australian government has cancelled the proposed aerodrome near Davis station in the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT), emphasising environmental concerns but probably more…