Analysts point to signs that President Javier Milei is bringing the country back in line with U.S. strategic interests.
Over the past decade China’s security footprint in Argentina has grown considerably, but analysts say recent indicators demonstrate President Javier Milei may be shifting defense cooperation back towards the United States.
A 2012 agreement between officials in Argentina’s Neuquen Province and Beijing allowed the construction of a deep space tracking station near the Chilean border, that made Washington sit up and take notice.
The 50-year contract grants the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the ability to operate freely on Argentinian soil. The facility, known as Espacio Lejano, became the precedent for a Chinese ground tracking facility in Rio Gallegos, on the south eastern coastal tip of Argentina, which was formally announced in 2021.
Since the Espacio Lejano contract was signed, analysts and U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern over China’s expanding collaboration with Argentina in matters of security and surveillance.
“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has expanded its ability to extract resources, establish port, manipulate governments through predatory investment practices, and build potential dual-use space facilities,” U.S. Southern Command Gen. Laura Richardson said during a 2023 House Armed Services Committee hearing.
President Milei took office on Dec. 10, 2023, replacing the progressive President Alberto Fernandez, who forged closer ties with China and signed a 2022 deal to join the Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative. While campaigning, Mr. Milei made no secret of his disdain for communist regimes and signaled his intent to move away from socialist policies in favor of a more libertarian direction.
In the nearly seven months he has been in office, President Milei has enacted major economic reforms and a downsizing of government.
Other recent “positive indicators” indicate the Milei administration are prioritizing defense relations with the United States over China, said Leland Lazarus, the associate director for national security at Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy.
“The fact is that in just six months, he’s already visited the U.S. multiple times. He’s met with Secretary Blinken, he’s been to the White House … all that is like absolute music to General Richardson’s ears. To Biden’s ears,” Mr. Lazarus told The Epoch Times.
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