Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
George Island in the South Shetlands. Over the next decade, with fluctuating funds and
political priorities, new research stations were built and collaborations extended to include
European, North American, and Asian countries, including the UK and US. Using the pre-
cedents established by the earlier parties to the Antarctic Treaty, science and scientific re-
search provided a mechanism for extending the Chinese presence within and beyond the
Antarctic. In 2005, a team of Chinese polar explorers travelled to Dome Argus (A), one of
the least explored areas of the Antarctic.
The Antarctic map is now encumbered with a new set of place names recording this
achievement - Turtle Mountain, Snake Mountain, and Western Lake - reflecting Chinese
history and geography. As a consequence, Western journalists frequently represent China's
'rise' in the Antarctic (and the Arctic) as a worrying development, mirroring earlier preoc-
cupation with the Soviet Union and its polar programme in the 1950s. Chinese scientists
and political leaders, as with earlier members, understand well the logics and techniques
associated with the ATS. Scientific and exploratory achievement, combined with network-
ing and collaboration, are the key mechanisms for achieving influence within this organiz-
ation. The Chinese government was eager to secure the support of the ATS for its plans to
build a scientific station at Dome A (established in 2009), while at the same time clashing
with Australia over criticism of illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean. Compared to other
members, however, its scientific output remains modest, and further development will de-
pend on resource commitments in the future.
China and India's membership of the ATS remind us that two large Asian states are in-
creasingly making their presence felt in the Antarctic. In October 2010, India announced
its inaugural scientific expedition to the South Pole, and the news was well received within
the country as evidence of its 'rise' in world affairs. Involved in the Antarctic since 1981,
India first raised the status of the polar continent in the United Nations in the 1950s. With
several research stations established, India has been a very public advocate of the Antarc-
tic being a common heritage of mankind. In 2007, at the India-hosted annual consultat-
ive party meeting, the then External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, reaffirmed that
'Antarctica being a common heritage of mankind, and the foremost symbol of peaceful use
and cooperation needs to be protected for posterity'. As with China, India's presence in the
ATS is another reminder that there is a group of 'global states' that have not only rejected
the rights of the seven claimant states but also articulated a view of the Antarctic which
is fundamentally different to the view of the United States. A common heritage of man-
kind, building upon UN General Assembly resolutions and international legal precedent,
suggests that the Antarctic should be held in trust for future generations and not be subject
to exploitation by individual states.
