March is the month of the famous carnivals in South America. However, the month also signifies the end of the Antarctic summer campaigns. Argentina and Chile are two of the seven countries that claim Antarctic territory, but other South American countries are also present on the frozen continent. The cornerstone of these annual campaigns, unsurprisingly, is the armed forces. As Antarctica’s importance grows, it is necessary to understand the strategies and objectives of South American governments toward the southernmost region. And to do that, we need to understand the role of South American militaries.
Recent Antarctic campaigns have achieved significant milestones. Chile’s new icebreaker, Almirante Viel, carried out its maiden voyage during the 2024–2025 campaign. Last year, for the first time, an Argentine Saab 340 transport aircraft successfully flew to Antarctica. The mission was “the first time in history that an aircraft from the Argentine Air Force landed on the recently built airstrip” at Petrel base in Dundee Island, according to the service. Also, last year, Brazil’s icebreaker Almirante Maximiano crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time.
Seven countries have territorial claims across Antarctica, including two South American countries: Australia, France, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Chile. (The United States and Russia do not claim Antarctic territory but reserve the right to claim it in the future). One fact to keep in mind is that the Argentine, Chilean, and British claims overlap each other. While warfare in Antarctica has not occurred, it is worth noting that Argentina and the United Kingdom had a conflict in 1982, the Falklands–Malvinas War. Argentina and Chile almost had a war in 1978, known as the Beagle Conflict, and the two countries also had a nonviolent border clash over Snipe Island in the Beagle Channel in 1958. South American countries that do not claim territory but have permanent or seasonal bases in Antarctic territory are Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay, while Colombia is also planning to construct a base.
While the Antarctic Treaty has been quite successful at keeping Antarctica demilitarized, the continent will become a hot spot of tensions (and potentially conflict) in the near future as governments and industries aim to claim Antarctic territory and capitalize on mineral resources, and food sources like fish and Antarctic krill. Additionally, the region’s location is strategically vital as it is located close to the interoceanic passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. This area is a strategic maritime choke point, using Alfred Mahan’s parlance, and it is already vibrant with the flow of fishing vessels. Monitoring and controlling the passageway will be increasingly important in the coming decades as more ships voyage to Antarctica to claim territory or exploit its natural resources.
Per Article I of the Antarctic Treaty signed in 1959, Antarctica is a demilitarized region. However, the same article also adds, “the present Treaty shall not prevent the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purpose.” In other words, no country can construct military bases, deploy weaponry, or carry out military operations (e.g., training or testing weaponry) in Antarctica, but military personnel and platforms, like aircraft or vessels assigned to air forces and navies or coast guards, can be deployed to the continent for “peaceful purposes,” including scientific research.
The second part of Article I is important to remember, as it explains why governments and their respective militaries continuously highlight scientific operations carried out in Antarctica in statements to the press, public reports, and social media. (Scientific research also justifies an expanding presence on the mainland; for example, China opened its fifth Antarctic station in early 2024). The scientific research is carried out to advance the understanding of the Antarctic environment and demonstrate that the military personnel deployed to Antarctica operate in the spirit of Article I of the treaty. Besides scientific research, military assets also engage in search and rescue missions, transporting equipment and civilian personnel, helping the scientific activities of other countries, and promoting cordial relations by visiting neighboring bases.
Navies operate icebreakers and polar vessels, air forces deploy transport aircraft to the region, and all three services are involved in scientific and research operations in the frozen mainland. The Antarctic Joint Naval Patrol (PANC for its initials in Spanish) has become an effective confidence-building mechanism to promote trust and cooperation between the navies of Argentina and Chile. Cooperation is also vital for countries with Antarctic programs in the early stages, such as Colombia and Ecuador. While Colombia has carried out 11 expeditions, Bogotá has yet to build a scientific base in Antarctica. Hence, during the 2023–2024 campaign, the scientific vessel ARC Simón Bolívar docked in ports of bases from friendly countries, including Ecuador’s Pedro Vicente Maldonado Base.
The importance of Antarctica is exemplified by the numerous assets that militaries deploy to the region. In the past couple of campaigns (2023–2024 and 2024–2025), Peru deployed the oceanographic research vessel BAP Carrasco; Brazil sent icebreaker Almirante Maximiano and research ship Ary Rongel; Colombia sent the polar-capable research ship ARC Simón Bolívar, while Uruguay deployed the transport vessel ROU 04 General Artigas. As for Argentina and Chile, given that they claim territory, Buenos Aires and Santiago deploy several vessels across Antarctic waters to supply their bases and participate in the PANC. While other countries deployed one or two boats, for the 2024–2025 campaign, the Chilean Navy sent a fleet of three ships: icebreaker Almirante Viel, tugboat ATF Lientur, and the offshore patrol vessel Marinero Funtealba; last year’s 2023–2024 campaign included transport vessel Aquiles and multipurpose vessel Sargento Aldea. Meanwhile, Argentina’s 2023–2024 campaign included deploying icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar and transport vessels ARA Bahía Agradable and ARA Estrecho de San Carlos.
The importance of Antarctica is also exemplified by the modernization of South American icebreakers and polar vessels. Peru’s Carrasco is less than a decade old, replacing the aging scientific vessel BIC Humboldt, built in the 1970s. In 2022, Colombia’s shipbuilding corporation COTECMAR launched ARC Simón Bolívar to the Navy. As for newer shipbuilding projects, the Chilean shipyard ASMAR built the icebreaker Viel. Meanwhile, the Brazilian company EMGEPRON is currently building a polar vessel, the future Almirante Saldanha, to replace the research ship Ary Rongel. ASMAR, COTECMAR, and EMGEPRON demonstrate that South American shipyards are also now capable of building icebreakers and polar vessels, a new milestone of technological expertise and development. Moreover, these acquisitions suggest that civilian authorities understand the need to maintain a presence in Antarctica, hence financial resources are assigned to ministries of defense to acquire polar assets.
Air forces also have a role to play. For the 2023–2024 campaign, Colombia’s tenth expedition to Antarctica, the Air Force deployed one Boeing C-40 Clipper transport aircraft, assigned to the service’s Aerial Command of Military Transport (Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar), which flew from Bogotá to Santiago de Chile and Punta Arenas (located in Chile’s Patagonia region). From there, the Colombian personnel flew to King George Island aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft operated by the Chilean Air Force. Other assets used recently by the Chilean Air Force include de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter light transport aircraft.
Having aircraft land in a challenging terrain and environment like Antarctica is an achievement. Moreover, aircraft speed up the transportation of personnel and equipment, and they can also engage in evacuation missions if necessary. Aerial medical evacuations have already occurred in recent history: In 2022, two crew members from an Argentine Navy vessel were sick while in Antarctica; they were successfully evacuated via a C-130 Hercules aircraft and Bell 212 and 412 helicopters operated by the Argentine air force. Army personnel are also deployed to the frozen continent’s bases to help carry out scientific experiments and support the missions.
High-ranking officials also visit Antarctica: Chile’s President Gabriel Boric traveled there in early January, while then-President of Uruguay Luis Lacalle Pou made his own trip in December 2023. More recently, then-Uruguayan Minister of Defense Armando Castaingdebat flew to the scientific Artigas Base in February.
Given South American nations’ interest in Antarctica, it is imperative that they have a proverbial (and physical) seat at the table in 2048—when the Antarctic Treaty will be open for review and the future of Antarctica decided. This statement is particularly true for Argentina and Chile, which have territorial claims, but also for Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay, which have (or plan to have) scientific bases in Antarctica. Operating bases, in addition to annual campaigns by icebreakers to validate vessels, are critical, as having a physical presence helps validate these countries’ objective to have a role in deciding the future of Antarctica.
As this analysis has demonstrated, the armed forces, particularly navies and air forces, have a vital role in the annual campaigns that South American countries carry out in Antarctica. The navies of Argentina and Chile also work together via the PANC to patrol and protect Antarctic waters, one example of how South American militaries work together to keep Antarctica safe and promote scientific research. Hence, not only do South America’s Antarctic campaigns support a government’s foreign policy and geopolitical objectives, but they also serve as confidence-building mechanisms and catalysts for stronger military-to-military relations.
Wilder Alejandro Sánchez is a senior associate (non-resident) with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.