Russia and China in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean: Implications for the Five Eyes

Just like in the Arctic, the Antarctic is no longer insulated from geopolitical tension or the spillover of mistrust in the international community.1 Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are no longer exceptional in terms of ‘low tension’ governance and consensus-based decisions. And if the Arctic is any harbinger of the future of Antarctic affairs, then things may yet get worse.

Increasingly, China and Russia are acting as disruptors to good governance within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). For the past few years, Beijing and Moscow have become challenges – if not threats – to regional stability and have required the Five Eyes intelligence community to pool more resources and efforts into tracking their activity.

Mathieu Boulegue