Except Area 51, no other location on Earth has garnered more attention from skeptics than Antarctica.  While unlikely that Antarctica is simultaneously a hub for UFO’s, an entry point into a hollow earth, a retirement home for Nazis, and the current location of the lost city of Atlantis,  the documented facts surrounding the icy continent merit the nearly endless speculation. After years of government secrecy and conjecture, China’s global ambitions might just be the key to finally shedding light on the most mysterious place on Earth.

If you ask someone versed in Antarctica theories where this story starts, they will undoubtedly begin with American naval officer and Medal of Honor recipient Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd. Appearing on the Lonshines Chronoscope, a news program that played on NBC from 1951-1955, the Navy man discussed his experience being one of the first men ever to explore Antarctica during Operation Highjump.

“Strangely enough, there is left in the world today, an area as big as the United States, that’s never been seen by a human being. And that’s beyond the pole, on the other side of the South Pole,” stated Byrd in the interview.

The distinguished Admiral goes on to call Antarctica “by far the most valuable and important place left in the world for science” and “an untouched reservoir of natural recourses. “ When pressed on the specific natural recourses present, Byrd states that his expedition found enough coal to power the earth for “some time” and detected evidence of Uranium.

While the existence of such resources in the area many believe to be a frozen wasteland is surprising enough, the truly shocking aspect of Byrd’s expedition is how the international community responded: a deafening silence.

In fact, the 1959 Antarctic treaty, which was eventually signed by 53 countries, banned military and commercial presence on any land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees South latitude. Due to the internationally agreed-upon sanctions, non-governmental exploration of the area discussed by Admiral Byrd has become impossible. Discussion of the recourses discovered in the early arctic expedition ceased, and the public soon forgot about the mysterious land to the south.

After years of government control of the Arctic narrative, China is set to threaten this house of card. Possibly motivated by their enormous population’s need for resources, China has begun to increase their presence in the off-limits territory.

According to Radio Free Asia, “China’s growing presence in Antarctica is causing alarm among some experts in Australia, which has big stakes in the resource-rich continent.” A recent report from the nonpartisan Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) alleges that China has been conducting secret military activities in Antarctica and may be planning to grab land there.

China, which signed the Arctic Treaty in 1983, has not publicly explained its goals in details to the world press. However, tensions are said to be at a dangerous high between Australia and China.

With the Arctic Treaty apparently in disarray, are we seeing the unraveling of an international conspiracy to keep the southern continent a secret from the public? If one thing is for sure, the fact that the most significant militaries on Earth seem prepared to fight for the Arctic goes to show that Admiral Byrd’s words had more truth to them than many are willing to admit.