Chile’s president visited the South Pole on Friday in a bid to cement his country’s territorial claims to a part of Antarctica as competition in the region grows bit by bit.

Gabriel Boric, the president, and a delegation of officials visited the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, an American research base; first time, his office he saidthat the Latin American president set foot on the frozen continent in office.

Borić called the trip a “turning point” and “confirmation of our sovereignty in these areas”.

At the other end of the world, the Arctic has drawn notice with climate change making the region more important for global trade, opening up access to its natural resources and intensifying military competition there. In contrast, Antarctica has remained relatively under the radar.

But more than a century after explorers raced to plant flags in the icy polar desert, countries are once again openly competing for influence in the region.

The area is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System, which mandates that “Antarctica will be used only for peaceful purposes”. The Cold War-era pact and subsequent agreements aimed to make Antarctica a military-free zone and manage competing territorial claims.

For decades, the system has largely succeeded in establishing an international consensus for the region, according to a 2023 document. report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research institute based in Washington.

Many countries have long established or new facilities in Antarctica to conduct scientific research, some of which could also be used to explore the strategic and commercial potential of the region. Competition to do so has quietly intensified in recent years and looks set to continue, according to the report.

Antarctica’s harsh environment and treaty system have limited access to its resources, but the region has a rich marine environment and potential reserves of oil, gas and minerals. The barren landscape is also a good place for countries to market technology with military applications.

Russia has increased efforts to build monitoring stations for GLONASS, its version of the Global Positioning System, which has experts let’s say they also have a military use. At least three Russian stations already worked in Antarctica in 2015.

China announced in 2023 plans build new satellite stations in Antarctica, another project with potential military applications.

The treaty bans mining in the region, protecting small reserves of iron ore, coal and chromium. Estimates vary widely, but the region may also contain vast reserves of oil and natural gas. To the horror of environmentalists, China and Russia did persecuting relaxed restrictions on krill fishing.

Facets The treaty, which includes environmental protection, will be reviewed in 2048, but could be undermined before then.

Some signatories to the Antarctic Treaty have also made territorial claims – some of which overlap – while others do not recognize the territorial claims of other countries. Chile is one of the few countries that claims the territory, and it installed it a permanent settlement called Villa Las Estrellas.

Chile sought to bolster its territorial claims in May 2024, holding a meeting with defense officials in Antarctica as a symbol of sovereignty amid tension over reported Russian geological research in the Weddell Sea, the Antarctic region off the southernmost edge of South America.

Simon Romero contributed reporting.