Thailand is one of the countries that did not sign the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and consequently is not allowed to conduct its own independent research in Antarctica. Therefore, the country has regularly participated in expeditions of the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition since 2016. Both countries want to further intensify their cooperation and have set up a joint laboratory at the Chinese Great Wall Station for this purpose.
Back in 2013, Thai marine biologist Suchana Chavanich traveled to Antarctica with a Chinese team to take underwater samples. At the time, she was the first diver on a Chinese mission in 30 years.
“I dove in front of the station to see what was there,” says Suchana, who is an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. “Since the Chinese team had never dived there before, they asked Korean and Chilean colleagues whose stations were not too far away to help me.”
“Antarctica is a good place for everyone because you work together and help each other,” she adds. “There are no limits.”
In September last year, five Thai institutes renewed the memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Polar Research Institute, and Thai researchers are scheduled to return to Antarctica from December this year after the forced pause due to the pandemic. For the first time, they will then be able to work in the laboratory set up for them as a research base, with one of the focal points being the assessment of the effects of climate change on Antarctic species.
“The next time we go there, we won’t have our own station, but we’ll have our little lab,” Suchana says. China covered the costs of the Thai researchers staying in its stations and provided them with warm overalls, accommodation and food, he said.
So far, Thai researchers have only been able to collect samples and bring them back to Thailand. Thanks to the new lab, new possibilities are now opening up so that they can conduct small experiments and thus obtain more accurate data and results.
However, Thailand has by no means only been present in Antarctica for a few years. Back in 1993, Princess Sirindhorn was the first Thai woman to conduct research at New Zealand’s Scott Base and subsequently launched the Polar Research Team of Thailand. In 2004, the first Thai scientist participated in a Japanese expedition. Five years later, Suchanan Chavanich became the first Thai woman to conduct climate change studies in Antarctica with a Japanese research team.
In 2013, Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) first signed the MOU with the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAAA), after which Suchanan Chavanich traveled with them to the Great Wall Station. Thailand has also been a member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) since 2016 and has since been strengthening its scientific and logistical activities.
Julia Hager, PolarJournal
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