Antarctica

A Cold War deal on ice: The Antarctic Treaty at 60
A Cold War deal on ice: The Antarctic Treaty at 60
The Antarctic Treaty is celebrating an important anniversary. Negotiated in 1959, the treaty entered into force on 23 June 1961. The first meeting of the treaty parties was held…
The Davis aerodrome and Australia’s leadership in the Antarctic
The Davis aerodrome and Australia’s leadership in the Antarctic
Since the Davis aerodrome project in Antarctica was proposed in 2018 by the Australian government, there have been continuing debates about the potential environmental costs,…
Antarctica: Working a rules-based system
Antarctica: Working a rules-based system
Panic about China in Antarctica or shoehorning the continent into US-China geostrategic competition risks creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Australia’s interest in a peaceful…
Australia’s Russia problem (and how to solve it)
Australia’s Russia problem (and how to solve it)
The 2020 Defence Strategic Update goes some way to preparing Australia to compete in a new multipolar, Indo-Pacific–anchored strategic environment. But a notable absence from the…
Antarctica and the China test
Antarctica and the China test
At the current meeting in Hobart for CCAMLR, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, Australia is once again moving to establish marine…
Poles apart: The long shadow of US-China competition
Poles apart: The long shadow of US-China competition
From trade to cyber, from the South China Sea to outer space, strategic rivalry between the United States and China is shaping the international order. The polar regions seem no…
The (other) continent we can’t defend
The (other) continent we can’t defend
For all the back-and-forth Hugh White has generated with his latest book, How to Defend Australia, in a national preoccupation with the China question, little serious discussion…
The importance of trust in preserving Antarctica’s future
The importance of trust in preserving Antarctica’s future
For international governance of the near-pristine expanse of the Antarctic, consensus decision making is powerful indeed. This model, is the modus operandi of Antarctic law, and…
The heights of China’s ambition in Antarctica
The heights of China’s ambition in Antarctica
China has become more and more active in Antarctica in recent years – both in research and in the international framework of agreements known as the Antarctic Treaty System…
Building a paved runway in Antarctica
Building a paved runway in Antarctica
The government has announced budget support for Australia’s first paved runway in its Antarctic territory, as part of a modernisation program for its Antarctic bases. Of all the…