China’s Antarctic program captured international attention in January 2014 amid the dramatic rescue of the trapped Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy. Only a week after the rescue, China quietly released the environmental assessment report for its planned fifth Antarctic research station—the third new station in five years. China’s newest base is located at Terra Nova Bay in the strategically important Ross Sea region, where the U.S., New Zealand, South Korea, Italy, Germany and France also have research stations. The station will consolidate China's Antarctic interests and help make China a leading contender in polar affairs; less than 10 years ago the country was only a minor player in the polar regions. China now has more money to spend on new infrastructure such as bases, planes and icebreakers than any other state. China's rapid Antarctic—and Arctic—expansion reflects Beijing’s desire to become a maritime, and polar, great power with a voice in the formation of any future governance norms and access to the strategic resources of the polar regions.
Professor Anne-Marie Brady
Wilson Center
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Editor-in-chief of The Polar Journal