ONLINE CURRENTS VOL3 - Flipbook - Page 19
The Antarctic Paradox
What emerges from this dynamic is the Antarctic paradox, where, rather than the intended
conservation goals of the Antarctic Treaty System, the need to have influence takes priority.
Usage equals influence; influence equals power; power equals access to future resources.
Whatever is outwardly stated, countries are not present in Antarctica for the global good or
for scientific resources, but to have skin in the game for the inevitable future breakup of the
continent for resource acquisition.
There are multiple ways in which this plays out strategically on the continent. One of the
most well-grounded illustrations of this is the placement of 70 permanent scientific bases
representing 30 different countries (at time of writing). The placement of scientific bases has
been shown to closely align with how MPA’s are shaped and located - a prime example
being the UK government promoting an MPA near the South Orkneys where British Antarctic
Survey currently has a base.
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This standard of states proposing MPAs based on their
historical involvement in that area does not come without complaints from CCAMLR
members - citing a lack of inclusivity in decision-making which only “exerts greater control
over their territories through MPAs”. 40 Professor Anne-Marie Brady, a political scientist from
the University of Canterbury, has described how there is an increasing realization that "a lot
of the scientific research in Antarctica is a disguised form of presence that many countries in
Antarctica are occupying bases not to pursue scientific questions but to invest in long-term
strategic interests including potential access to any resources that may be discovered".41
Additionally, the subservient use of scientific bases is not exclusive to just access for
resources, but for military interests too. Although contradictory to the Antarctic Treaty which
prohibits “measures of a military nature”, the treaty’s ambiguity - which also allows military
activity ‘peaceful purposes’42 - leaves the definition of military presence up for interpretation.
For instance, the United States Indo-Pacific Command extends the command and control US
military doctrine into Antarctica through operations, such as Operation Deep Freeze which
has resupplied US scientific bases since the fifties. 43 The same can be seen in Australia,
where the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has choreographed ‘precision air-drops’ while
practicing their first over-Antarctica mid-flight refueling to resupply the Australian scientific
base.44 And now with Russia, through the state corporation Roscosmos, an increase in
surveillance capabilities in Antarctica with the installation of Global Navigation Satellite
System (GLONASS) and development of more remote-sensing technologies.
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