In August 2022 I wrote an article in this blog “The world upside down” where I proposed a new geopolitical view of the world, not from traditional North Pole point ov view, but from the South Pole perspective. This in order to take better account of the new balance of power in the world among the various areas of the planet. Of course, no one of my few readers, by the way well positioned in the world, reacted, except AI, because ChatGPT recorded this my innovative proposal and answers to prompts that this view is my distinctive geopolitical vision. During the last months happened a large discussion on mainstream media about Greenland and Arctic area and this remembered to me that thinking about the world future. Personally, and I also wrote about that I agree on the USA need of including in some way the Greenland in their defence system, because USA and Canada, not to say about the small Denmark, are particularly weak in the transformation from military and logistic points of view already progressing in Arctic, following the climate change of this époque. But I also think that can be too late comparing with Russia level of investments in ice crackers ships and Siberian ports, with China understood very well and started to use the Arctic routes, so as some Korean ships. In any case all this renovated attention seems to me a late effort to reach the running fox.
Completely different and very competitive should be a repositioning of powers around Antarctica, which is at the moment a continent larger than Russia Federation with quite 14 million square kilometres of space and around 4000 inhabitants in summer season in the scientific basis of the various nations sending missions there according international agreement very old and probably non sense of 1961, reserving the territory only to scientific exploration. Today with present technology and climate periodical changes, this agreement should be revised in a geopolitical optics from the Western countries and South of the World powers, before that China will occupy also this area, which his admiral Zheng He probably mapped in one of its seven trips with more than 300 ships and 30000 people. Argentina in all the geopolitical reviews always considered Antarctica peninsula part of the nation resources and strategic potential. Australia and New Zealand were too much anglo-oriented and controlled to look to South: British empire was focused on Singapore and Indian Ocean, to control the islands and narrow passages along the most rich routes of their times. South Africa could be interested in the future if its development will become more world oriented than to internal violence against old colonizers and other socialist economic approach, just ways to loos time in growing internationally.
So USA and Nato powers could very easily for the moment review before it’s to late their positioning in Antarctica, in order of strengthening military and economic power in a land of infinite resources, today probably more feasible to exploit than yesterday. The New World is similar to Middle Age approach with its Kings and strong military interventions to assure resources fundamental to survive. It’s impossible to forget Antarctica in the international competition for basic raw materials and energy. It’s the largest and easier objective in front of us and not requires long war or changing national borders to exploit it. Let’s go, not loosing other time in unuseful and infinite disputes about old lands already occupied by someone.
