Chilean President Gabriel Boric
AFP on January 4 reported that Chilean President Gabriel Boric made a historic visit to Antarctica to affirm the country’s “claim of sovereignty” over part of this icy land.
The 39-year-old leader’s office said he left on January 3 (local time). Mr. Boric was the first leader in Latin America to reach the South Pole.
“This is a milestone for us. This is the first time a Chilean president has come to Antarctica and talked about Chile’s mission here,” Mr. Boric said on Chilean Television.
President Boric, along with the ministers of defense and environment as well as three military commanders, arrived at the Amundsen-Scott Antarctic Station, an American research facility, at 20:00 GMT (3:00 a.m. on January 4 in Vietnam). Nam), his office said.
President Boric departed from the Punta Arenas area in southern Chile on a Hercules C-130 military transport plane.
The Chilean leader plans to spend about 2 hours at the facility, in one of the most remote and dangerous areas on the planet. He said the trip “is a confirmation of our claim” to part of Antarctica.
During the 20th century, countries such as Chile, France, the US, the UK, Argentina and Japan established research stations in Antarctica, both for scientific research and to establish a presence in the region.
Since 1961, activities in the region have been governed by the Antarctic Treaty, which protects the continent and surrounding waters from geopolitical competition.
The US State Department said seven countries including Chile maintain territorial claims in Antarctica, but “the United States and most other countries do not recognize those claims”.
President Boric began his trip from the Punta Arenas area in southern Chile to the Chilean research station on the Union Glacier in Antarctica aboard a Hercules C-130 military transport plane.
Mr Boric’s visit comes “at a critical time for Chile’s scientific efforts in the region”, his office said.
Previously, Chile focused its research in northern Antarctica, but the South American country is hoping to expand its efforts to the Bellingshausen and Weddell seas.
In 2007, then-New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark made the trip to Antarctica, followed by former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in 2011. Mr. Stoltenberg’s trip came on the 100th anniversary of the trip. by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in December 1911.
