Geopolitics of Arctic, Antarctic & International Boundaries — Polar Regions & Disputed Territories

Overview

The polar regions — the Arctic and Antarctic — have emerged as critical arenas of geopolitical competition in the 21st century. Melting ice caps are opening new shipping routes (Northern Sea Route), exposing vast mineral and energy reserves, and raising sovereignty disputes. Meanwhile, territorial disputes and international boundary lines remain perennial topics for UPSC — from the South China Sea's nine-dash line to the Durand Line and McMahon Line affecting India's neighbourhood.

Exam Strategy: For Prelims, memorise the Arctic Council's 8 members, India's polar research stations (Maitri, Bharati, Himadri), the Antarctic Treaty year (1959), and international boundary lines. For Mains, focus on the geopolitics of the Northern Sea Route, Arctic resource competition, India's Arctic Policy (2022), and how UNCLOS governs maritime disputes.

The Arctic

Geography

Arctic Council

The Arctic Council, established by the Ottawa Declaration in 1996, is the leading intergovernmental forum for Arctic cooperation.

Key Fact: All 8 Arctic Council member states have territory above the Arctic Circle. India gained observer status in 2013, joining China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore (all also admitted in 2013). Observer states may attend meetings, propose projects, and contribute to working groups, but cannot vote.

Northern Sea Route (NSR)

Arctic Resource Race

UNCLOS and Arctic Claims

Under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), coastal states can claim:

• Territorial Sea — 12 nautical miles from baseline
• EEZ — 200 nautical miles (sovereign rights over resources)
• Extended Continental Shelf — beyond 200 nm if geological evidence supports it (under Article 76)

Russia, Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), and Norway have submitted claims to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend their continental shelves in the Arctic, including claims to the Lomonosov Ridge (which Russia argues is an extension of the Siberian continental shelf).

The Antarctic

Geography

Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

Madrid Protocol (1991)

Exam Tip: The Madrid Protocol's mining ban is valid until at least 2048. After that, any modification requires agreement of three-quarters of the current Consultative Parties. This is a frequently tested fact — remember 1991 (signed) and 2048 (earliest review date).

India's Polar Programme

India's Antarctic Stations

India's Arctic Station

NCPOR — National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research

India's Arctic Policy (2022)

Prelims Tip: India's three Antarctic stations — Dakshin Gangotri (1983, now decommissioned), Maitri (1989), and Bharati (2012). India's Arctic station — Himadri (2008, Svalbard, Norway). All managed by NCPOR (Goa) under MoES.

Major Disputed Territories

South China Sea — Nine-Dash Line

Other Major Disputed Territories

Important International Boundary Lines

Prelims Tip: Do not confuse these boundary lines — Durand Line (Afghanistan-Pakistan, 1893), McMahon Line (India-China, 1914), Radcliffe Line (India-Pakistan partition, 1947). The LAC (India-China) is distinct from the McMahon Line — the LAC is the de facto border across the entire India-China frontier, while the McMahon Line specifically refers to the eastern sector (Arunachal Pradesh).

UNCLOS — Key Provisions for Boundary Disputes

Article 76 allows coastal states to claim an Extended Continental Shelf beyond 200 nm if they can prove the seabed is a natural prolongation of their land territory. This is the basis of Russia's Arctic claim over the Lomonosov Ridge and overlapping claims in the Arctic Ocean.

Frequently Asked Questions (Prelims Pattern)

Global Strategic Chokepoints

Understanding maritime chokepoints is essential for geopolitics — control over these narrow passages confers immense strategic leverage.

Mains Relevance: India's energy security depends on the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca. As of 2025, after deliberate diversification, only ~30% of India's crude oil imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz (down from ~45% earlier), per the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. The Strait of Malacca remains the key route for trade with East and Southeast Asia. The opening of the Northern Sea Route could further reduce India's dependence on these chokepoints, which is why India's Arctic Policy (2022) emphasises NSR potential.

Climate Change and Polar Regions

Key Terms for Quick Revision

Recent Developments (2024–2026)

Arctic Militarisation — Russia–China NSR Partnership and NATO's High North Response (2024–2025)

Russia's Northern Sea Route (NSR) logged 38 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, with Moscow actively promoting it as an alternative to Suez for China-Europe trade. In May 2024, Russia and China formally established an intergovernmental Sub-Commission on NSR Development — coordinating port infrastructure investment, digital ice-navigation data sharing, and Chinese-flagged transit expansion along the NSR. This Russia–China Arctic axis represents a direct challenge to Western maritime dominance: if the NSR becomes fully operational year-round (projected post-2030 as Arctic ice retreats), shipping distances between East Asia and Europe shrink by 30–40% compared to the Suez route. In response, Norway, Finland, and Sweden announced a trilateral military transport corridor in June 2024 to streamline NATO logistics in the High North. NATO still lacks a dedicated Arctic strategy (EU last updated its Arctic strategy in 2021, pre-Ukraine invasion). India's Arctic engagement deepened: in June 2025, India signed an agreement with Kongsberg Maritime and GRSE to co-develop its first indigenous Polar Research Vessel — a major step beyond the seasonal Himadri operations at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.

UPSC angle: NSR as an emerging trade route, India's Arctic Policy 2022, and India's three polar stations (Himadri-Arctic, Maitri-Antarctic, Bharati-Antarctic) are standard Prelims facts. For Mains, Russia–China Arctic cooperation and its implications for India's strategic autonomy in a multipolar world is a high-value GS2 topic.

Antarctic Governance Under Pressure — Madrid Protocol, Climate Data, and India's Deep South Research (2024–2025)

The Antarctic Treaty System remains robust: the 2025 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) reaffirmed the Madrid Protocol's mining ban and "natural reserve" status. However, climate change is imposing unprecedented stress on Antarctic ice: February 2023 set the all-time record low Antarctic sea-ice extent at 1.79 million km², and February 2024 tied for the second-lowest on record at 1.99 million km² — roughly 1 million km² below the 1981–2010 average. The period 2022–2024 saw three consecutive Antarctic sea-ice summer minimums below 2.0 million km². West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) destabilisation, if complete, could raise global sea levels by 3.3 metres. India's 44th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (2024–25 season) operated from Bharati (Larsemann Hills) and Maitri (Schirmacher Oasis), with NCPOR (Goa) managing data on ice cores, atmospheric CO₂, and Southern Ocean currents — directly relevant to India's monsoon modelling and coastal vulnerability assessments.

UPSC angle: Antarctic Treaty (1959), Madrid Protocol (1991), ATCM, India's polar stations and their locations, and the implications of Antarctic ice loss for sea-level rise and Indian Ocean dynamics are all high-frequency UPSC topics, especially post-2023 when sea-ice records were broken.

Sources: Arctic Council (arctic-council.org); Wikipedia (Arctic Council, Antarctic Treaty, Nine-dash line, Durand Line); PIB (pib.gov.in — India's polar programme, Arctic Policy 2022); NCPOR (ncpor.res.in — Himadri, Bharati, Maitri); Britannica; PCA (South China Sea Arbitration); UNCLOS text (un.org); The Arctic Institute; Insights on India (coastline revision).