China to Build Airstrip
in Antarctica
China will build an airstrip in Antarctica, a new step
in the rapid strengthening of its presence in the white continent where it
already has four research stations, reported Monday the state press.
This
infrastructure will be used to transport men and material, to the four bases
that China has in Antarctica in the southern hemisphere, where it also plans to
build a new station beginning in 2015, the newspaper Evening News Beijing
said.
Chinese researchers are
currently "dependent on sea transport," which "seriously affects their capacity
for scientific research" in waters often unnavigable due to ice, the paper
said.
Thirty nations have a
research station in Antarctica, Beijing has devoted significant resources to
strengthen the Chinese presence.
These efforts were
illustrated by the repeated tasks of the Chinese icebreaker MV Xue Long (Snow
Dragon) in the region.
On the other side of the
globe, China, the world's largest energy consumer, is also looking to establish
itself in the Arctic where the vast hydrocarbon reserves are still up for grabs.
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