Recently, Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia have hit new highs, making it the global epicentre of the coronavirus. As countries across the region try to curb the spread of the Delta variant, ASPI’s Huong Le …
Next year, the Australian government will decide on whether to commit funding for a proposed year-round, paved aerodrome in the Vestfold Hills area, near the Australian Davis research station in East Antarctica. An all-weather, year-round, …
The Antarctic Treaty System is a consensus arrangement that has been in place for more than 50 years. It worked well in the 1960s, when nuclear weapons were seen as the key to global security. …
For Australian policymakers, the security advantages of the Antarctic Treaty would seem to be hiding in plain sight. The luxury of a secure, demilitarised southern neighbourhood saves us a great deal of money and kit. …
Beijing’s recent announcement that its new ice breaker, the Haibing 722 海冰 (Sea Ice), had undertaken its maiden voyage patrolling the Bohai Sea is a signal of China’s growing prowess in the polar regions. Haibing 722 …
The Antarctic region is of immense strategic importance to Australia, not only because Australia claims 42% of Antarctica, but also because the Antarctic Treaty provides that all of the planet below 60 degrees South is …
Two incidents so far this year have highlighted Australia’s inability to protect its sovereignty and discharge its responsibilities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. In the first incident in January, three foreign fishing vessels were …
Since the April 2013 publication of my previous post on Antarctica, two events have added further to the picture of Australia’s strategic interests in Antarctica. The first was the release of a new defence white …
Guest editor Anthony Bergin The issue of Antarctic geologically based resources hasn’t been discussed seriously for decades and for two good reasons. There’s been no serious interest by industry for sensible economic reasons. We’ve also …
The Antarctic has never prominently featured in Defence white papers; indeed it rated a mention in only two of the last four, those in 1987 and 2009. Written some 22 years apart, the difference in …
Guest editor Anthony Bergin Article 1 of the Antarctic Treaty provides that Antarctica ‘shall be used for peaceful purposes only’. It prohibits ‘any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases …
Guest editor Anthony Bergin The science that Australia undertakes in Antarctica should be, and be seen to be, in Australia’s national interests. There are many reasons for Australia to be actively engaged in Antarctic science, …