Several months ago, the Trump administration presented a new national security and defense strategy for the polar regions. Titled Memorandum of Safeguarding U.S. National Interests in the Arctic and Antarctic region, it was the first time that strategic issues in both polar regions were treated in tandem.
The memorandum calls for the development of "a ready, capable, and available fleet of polar security icebreakers that is operationally tested and fully deployable by fiscal year 2029." In addition, the memorandum calls for the U.S. to secure "associated assets and resources capable of ensuring a persistent United States presence in the Arctic and Antarctic."
The Arctic and the Antarctic regions, however, are very different, with separate geopolitical and strategic considerations. This is Part II of a two-part series on the geopolitics of the polar regions. In Part I, we looked at the Arctic region. In Part II, we will examine the Antarctic region.
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