China’s Frozen Frontier: Antarctica Next on List in Quest for Pole-to-Pole Power

Beijing has used its economic clout and growing military strength to assert a role as a “near-Arctic” state to seek a security and economic role as a warming globe makes Arctic resources and trade routes more accessible. On the other side of the world, China is expanding its footprint in Antarctica to become a “polar great power” by the end of the decade.

“China has an interest in being seen as an important player in all kinds of regions,” said Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. “Its ability to operate in [the polar regions] is ‘world-class’ if not ‘world-leading.’”

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