DHAKA: China is to build its own airfield in Antarctica, media reported Monday, as Beijing continues to expand its footprint in the most remote corners of the globe.

The airstrip will be built to assist China’s four research stations on the frozen continent, the Beijing Evening News said, without giving details such as runway length or capacity.

‘China has built four Antarctic research stations, but does not have its own fixed-wing airport,’ the newspaper said, reports The Straits Times.

Researchers ‘must rely on maritime transport’, it said, which was ‘seriously affecting the ability of scientific exploration’.

BDST: 2128 HRS, OCT 27, 2014