Chilean President Gabriel Boric begins his voyage on the icebreaker Almirante Vial to Talcahuano. The voyage “is a confirmation of our claim to sovereignty” over part of Antarctica, he said. Photo: Cristobal Basaure Araya/SOPA Images/Rex/Shutterstock
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Chilean president makes historic trip to the South Pole amid claims of sovereignty over Antarctica.
Gabriel Boric is the first Latin American leader to reach the planet's southernmost point, according to his office.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric made a historic trip to the South Pole to reaffirm his country's “claim to sovereignty” over its part of Antarctica, his cabinet said.
Boric is the first Latin American leader to reach the Earth's southernmost point, according to his office.
“This is a milestone for us,” said Boric in images broadcast on Chilean television.
“It's the first time a Chilean president has reached the South Pole and spoken about Chile's Antarctic mission.”
Boric, accompanied by his defense and environment ministers, as well as three military commanders, arrived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a US research base, at 20:00 GMT, his office said.
The Chilean leader planned to spend around two hours at the US outpost in one of the most remote and hostile areas of the planet.
The trip “is a confirmation of our claim to sovereignty” over part of Antarctica, he said.
During the 20th century, countries such as Chile, France, the US, Great Britain, Argentina, and Japan established research stations in Antarctica for scientific research and to establish a presence in the forbidden region.
Since 1961, activities in the region have been governed by the Antarctic Treaty, which seeks to protect the continent and its surrounding seas from geopolitical rivalries.
The US State Department states that seven countries, including Chile, maintain territorial claims in Antarctica, but “the United States and most other countries do not recognize these claims.”
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Boric began his journey earlier in the day from Punta Arenas in southern Chile, arriving at Chile's research station on the Union Glacier in Antarctica aboard a Hercules C-130 military transport plane.
Boric's visit comes “at an important moment for Chile's scientific efforts in the region,” his office said.
In the past, Chile has concentrated its research on the northern part of Antarctica, but the South American country hopes to expand its efforts to the Bellingshausen and Weddell seas, according to the presidency's statement.
In 2007, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, made the trip to the South Pole, followed in 2011 by former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg was commemorating the 100th anniversary of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's voyage in December 1911.
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