The mysteries of the Chinese base of Neuquén: alert to the Chancery, official inspection and 7 scientists of the Chinese army

Five years after the approval by the Kirchner government of the law relating to the installation of the Chinese space station in Neuquén, a sea of ​​doubts continues to hover around this opaque project. In recent days, new movements in Argentina around this enigma have raised new concerns. mysteries: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a secret request for reports before the request of several countries, a special mission of the Secretariat for Science and Technology went to the base of Bajada del Agrio, the government has already guaranteed the entrance of the premises to a small group of legislators have learned that seven Chinese scientists under the Xi Jinping People's Army were very secretive.

As he was able to rebuild Infobae government officials, foreign diplomats and space technology experts, nobody knows until now which fundamental objectives pursued by China in the Neuquén station with an antenna that could have dual use (peaceful and military), could have interception capability of satellites and is controlled by a space agency that is under the jurisdiction of the army Xi Jinping

More than a month ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent the Secretariat of Science and Technology a request for reports, including a specific complaint that the Committee on Space Activities (CONAE) and Conicet would have better control of the station. China in Neuquén. He also warned against the concern of the United States and at least two European countries face the possibility of dual use of the Chinese space station.

"The request of the Foreign Ministry was about the need to open this base in China as much as possible and taking into account the concerns expressed by some countries," he admitted. Infobae high official of the San Martín Palace.

The United States and the United Kingdom both requested last year UN Disarmament Committee In Geneva, space stations are better controlled around the world. This claim was motivated by the ambbadador of Argentina Carlos Foradori although Russia and China opposed it, the problem did not flourish.

Chancellor's request Jorge Faurie Science and technology have also considered the possibility of greater involvement of Argentina in the Chinese project located on 200 hectares in the city of Bajada del Agrio. However, The Chancellor's claim to science and technology comes up against a legal hurdle: the standard approved in 2015 does not allow CONAE scientists to use China's satellite dish an hour and forty minutes a day . No more than that.

In any case, the Secretary of Science and Technology, Lino Barañao, who was with Cristina Kirchner's government and then continued with Mauricio Macri sent a special mission from his wallet a month ago to the Neuquén station to conduct an inspection and badess what China is doing on the spot. The planning secretary has traveled Jorge Aguado and do a detailed badysis of the situation.

In dialogue with Infobae Barañao admitted the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but downplayed the importance of the existing versions on a possible dual use of the antenna installed in the Chinese base in Neuquén: "There is nothing to worry about, there is no Chinese military presence on the space station and it's just a lunar observation antenna like this one. from Malargue of the European Union. "he said.

But there is a minor detail: this European station responds to a civilian space agency and not to the military, as in the case of the Chinese agency of the CLTC which will operate in Neuquén for 50 years with a tax exemption .

Barañao said, however, that China's satellite antenna at Neuquén could serve as a GPS with spatial positioning and He added that his secretariat had already agreed that a group of lawmakers and scientists would visit the Chinese base for an inspection on the basis of the bill introduced by Peronist Senator Miguel Angel Pichetto. March 25, to create a parliamentary bicameral commission to control this space station. The project was also signed by the senators of the PJ Pedro Guastavino, Carlos Espinola, Rodolfo Urtubey, José Ojeda and Carlos Caserio and establishes that the commission will be composed of seven senators and seven deputies.

Pichetto's initiative states that the commission should "to have unlimited access to surveillance, command and data acquisition facilities in the territory of the province of Neuquén, as well as to all relevant documentation" in the Chinese special station. It also indicates that the heads of the various sectors of the government competent in the matter must present themselves every 90 days before the bicameral meeting "to provide a report based on the state of progress of the execution. and respect for the Agreement ".

None of this has been considered so far by the secretary in charge of Barañao as part of the inspection mission scheduled for the end of the month.

Strictly speaking, the Secretariat for Science and Technology will be launching an invitation in the coming days to legislators of the ruling party and the opposition, as well as a group of scientists and journalists to perform an eye inspection in the database. from Neuquén. This inspection is scheduled for late April. This was advanced Aguado who made the first inspection of the Argentine government on the space station in China.

The details of the resort

"During the tour we conducted, seven Chinese scientists are working, they complain about the bad weather and all we saw of their tasks is in accordance with the agreement that was established by law, and 39, that is, there is no military use, but civilian use of the station space, "he said Infobae the Secretary of Scientific and Technological Planning.

– Argentina will not be able to have more controls or more capacity for scientific work on the spot? said this way to Aguado.

-We can do what the law says in terms of ability to use Argentina. That's 1.40 hours a day. But we will advance in the call to the scientific sector to develop more projects, we will look for ways to install alternative Argentinian astronomy equipment and we will fight for the CONAE to develop any its research capacity, explained the secretary of the Science and Technology Plan.

Barañao and Aguado both categorically rejected the fact that the seven scientists working at the Bajada del Agrio station are responding to the People's Army of China.

However, on December 13, 2018, the CONAE authorities received a visit from the Chinese delegation chaired by the senior advisor of the Chinese agency Huang Quisheng, responsible for launching and controlling surveillance in China, as well as representatives of Xi & # 39; an Satellite. Control Center (XSCC), Beijing Aerospace Command Center (BACC) and Beijing Telecommunications Technology Monitoring Institute (BITTT). These are all space agencies responsible for the Neuquén base, which clearly shows that they depend directly on the high command of the People's Army of China.

For Barañao and his team, nothing indicates that there is a dual use of the 25 meter high antenna installed by China in Neuquén for lunar observation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has however been alerted by countries worried about a possible satellite interception of China since Neuquén.

In addition, Infobae could he know that in the Ministry of Defense in charge of Oscar Aguad is held responsible for a detailed report prepared by the armed forces where he is alerted of the eventual use of the station for military purposes from China to Neuquén and its risks for the region.

Apparently, this report was prepared shortly after the leader of the Pentagon, Jim Mattis He went to Argentina in January of this year and during a meeting with Minister Aguad, he expressed the concern of the United States regarding the military use of the station operated by the Chinese agency of the CLTC in Neuquén, under the direct mandate of the Xi Jinping People's Army.

How could a lunar observation antenna work to intercept satellites?

This was the repeated mention that they made to Infobae badysts and experts in military technology on the possible use of the antenna Neuquén owned by China.

April 1st, the American site The free tag of Washington He published a full article by Bill Gertz, editor of the magazine and national security expert. Extensive research has been conducted on satellite images of a Chinese anti-satellite secret base located in the western province of Xinjiang, as well as on other "high-tech weapons" facilities.

Gertz explained in his article that the installation of this base had been discovered by the retired colonel of the Indian Army, Vinayak Bhat, a satellite image badyst specializing in China. And this ensures: "China uses its satellite tracking stations across the country to identify and target satellites and, once the precise trajectory of the satellite and other data is known, targeted energy weapons located at five locations different can take control task "Said Bhat at the Washington Free Beacon.

At the same time, Gertz's report states that Beijing "may already have limited capacity to use laser systems against satellite sensors".

It is not excluded that weapons are used at the base of Xinjiang, which could have effects such as lasers, high power microwaves and other types of radio frequency weapons to intercept satellites. Gertz also states that the United States operates nearly half of the more than 270 military satellites in orbit, as well as hundreds of civilian, commercial, and dual-use satellites that can be used for military operations.

Taiwan diplomats told Infobae that China's interference in Latin America did not respond to trade problems but "to a national security goal." This is what is happening in the United States and Europe before the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, which is limited by its alleged state spying operations that would hide behind the activity commercial.

Last year, before a request for access to the information presented Infobae the CONAE that works Raul Kulichevskyexplained that Argentina has been collaborating with the Chinese space station in Neuquén since last April in the Chang-E 4 project, which aimed to discover the hidden face of the Moon and to become known around the world. On the other hand, it has been reported that this 200-hectare lunar observation base today continues to pursue two concrete objectives: radio astronomy observation and telemetry controls, remote control and the control of interplanetary missions in the deep space.

From CONAE, they rejected the idea of ​​a possible military use of the antenna of Neuquén station and its possible interception of satellites. But apparently, they do not think the same thing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense or foreign diplomacy.