Chile does not hesitate to take advantage of its geographical position with the white continent and, this time, send out a warning message for the climate.
During the presentation of the national colours to Chilean athletes for the Parapan American Games, Chilean President Gabriel Boric took the opportunity to announce his trip to Antarctica, during which he will be accompanied by UN Secretary General António Guterres. Today, these two political representatives are travelling to King George Island by armed Chilean air force.
This is not the first presidential visit: on June 23, Gabriel Boric travelled to the South Shetlands archipelago, on King George Island, to join the Comandante Frei base. During their visit, the President and the Secretary General of the Government (Camila Vallejo), the Minister of the Environment (Maisa Rojas), the Minister of Defence (Maya Fernández) and the Minister of Science (Aisén Etcheverry) took part in the atmospheric launch of a meteorological balloon with the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH).
This second trip did not go uncriticised by the opposition. Right-wing economist Jose Luis Daza took the opportunity to comment on X ( ex Twitter): “Boric is travelling on a special, private flight to see the damage he is doing to Antarctica”. To which the President replied, “I’m going to propose to the UN Secretary General that we replace the Chilean Air Force by a canoe so that people like you don’t have to go through this rough patch.”
Internal wrangling aside, diplomatic trips to Antarctica are a Chilean speciality. In 1948, President Gabriel González Videla was the first head of state to visit the white continent, for reasons that are no longer valid. Claims to sovereignty over these territories have been frozen since 1961.
“A call to action”
The last visit by a UN Secretary General to Antarctica was in 2007. Ban Ki-moon travelled there using Chilean military and air assets, visiting the Collins Glacier on King George Island and the Korean base at Sejong.
This time, Guterres will visit the Nelson and Collins glaciers, whose melting is a sign of global warming. Their retreat is revealing rocks that have recently been freed from the ice. The UN Secretary General intends to use this experience to ” call for action that matches the scale of the crisis we face”, he said in the run-up to COP28. On November 14, the United Nations issued a statement underlining the ongoing failure to meet the objective of the Paris Agreements on climate change, which is to stay below 1.5°C of global warming.
For Chile, these visits are an opportunity to maintain the prestige of its international policy. For example, it nurtures bilateral relations through its proximity to the territory. Like with Ecuador, which has taken advantage of the Chilean army’s ATF Lautaro to launch its 25th expedition in October 2020. Or with China, with an invitation to Xi Jinping planned for next year.
“Xi Jinping may take the opportunity to visit the Great Wall station located near the Comandante Frei base, which could lead to scientific agreements,” comments Miguel Angel Salazar Urrutia, a researcher at the Science Po International Research Centre and the Milenio BASE Institute in Chile.
Chile is also planning to build an international Antarctic centre with science laboratories in the south of the country and a logistics port to Antarctica. “They want to specialise in science logistics, whereas the Argentinian port of Ushuaïa is more focused on tourism,” points out the researcher.
The Chinese visit could also serve to strengthen bilateral ties outside Antarctica. In the north of the country, in Mejillones, China has invested 233 million dollars in the lithium extraction plant of Yongqing Technology, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Tsingshan Holding Group, which specialises in the manufacture of nickel and stainless steel. China is also currently interested in Chilean agricultural products, including wine, honey and brandy.
Multilateral negotiations
“Chile uses the Antarctic as a place for cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral negotiations,” explains Miguel Angel Salazar Urrutia. This visit could provoke criticism from members of the Antarctic Treaty. In particular, because the UN visit represents a rapprochement between the UN system and the Antarctic system.
Historically, the members of the Treaty have wanted to keep the Antarctic system separate from the UN system,” explains Miguel Angel Salazar Urrutia. “It remains to be seen what happens at the next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in India.” Chile’s role here would be symbolic, representing the Treaty.
On the other hand, “Chile is in an intermediary position that could possibly break the deadlock in the negotiations on marine protected areas”, he comments. China and Russia are currently freezing international negotiations aimed at protecting the maritime areas around Antarctica from fishing.
Despite Chile’s highly advantageous geographical position in terms of access to Antarctica, it does have some rivals. “Australia and Argentina are also competing to be identified as the gateways to Antarctica”, he points out.
Camille Lin, PolarJournal
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