According to analysts, China’s Antarctic research station is like a James Bond movie enclave that may be a spy operation used to acquire information about the West.
The highest-ranking military figures in China oversaw the construction of the 56446-square-foot complex, which can accommodate 80 people throughout the year.
The structure is called Qinling Station, and it’s the communist country’s fifth facility in Antarctica and the third one that can run all year. It’s located near the Red Sea on Inexpressible Island.
The facility, which reportedly has an observatory and a satellite ground station, will be used to improve humanity’s scientific understanding of Antarctica, as stated by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
On February 7, the day the outpost was designated and launched, many personnel clad in red and black winter attire stood outside the facility.
The station had three distinct sections, with a central eating and working space serving as the hub.
The station’s second-floor winter dorms are roomy and functional and furnished with beds, reading lamps, tables, shelves, and electrical outlets.
Designed to honor Chinese sailor Zheng He, who utilized the Southern Cross constellation as a navigational aid on his journeys to the Western Seas, the whole structure looks like something out of a spy movie’s villain’s lair.
Some observers have cautioned that the base’s capabilities are inherently dual-use, despite claims that it serves no military purpose and was established for scientific research.
Concerns that China may collect intelligence from New Zealand and Australia were heightened by its location, which is close to the US McMurdo Station and somewhat south of the country.
According to a paper released in April by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, data on rockets launched from space facilities might be retrieved.
According to the study, the facility can obtain communications and tracking for China’s ever-increasing observation satellites, but its equipment can also intercept other nations’ satellite communications.
According to China, the station reportedly began operations on February 7.
