(Reuters) – New Zealand said on Saturday its Antarctic agency had signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute to promote cooperation between the two polar scientific bodies, amid China’s growing presence in Antarctica.
“Antarctica is of growing geostrategic and scientific interest, and this agreement will expand connections between our marine and polar science institutes,” said the New Zealand Foreign Minister. Winston Peters said in a press release.
Peters and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, in Auckland on an official visit to New Zealand, witnessed the signing of the MOU, according to the statement.
The deal comes after New Zealand said in February it was reassessing a proposal to review its decades-old Antarctic base after negotiations with a construction company stalled. In 2019, New Zealand announced plans to renovate the base, but since then projected costs have increased by more than 50%.
Antarctica, south of New Zealand and Australia, is increasingly populated, with China opening its fifth research base there in February. Western governments are concerned that China’s increased presence in Antarctica and the Arctic could provide the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with better surveillance capabilities.
The Alfred Wegener Institute is Germany’s largest scientific organization and coordinates German polar research efforts, according to its website.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Sam Holmes)
