US warns against "non-civilian" uses of Chinese base in Neuquén

Wrapped in a halo of opacity and secrecy, the observation station in the deep space built by China in the province of Neuquén is a topic of interest to the region. For the first time, senior US military commanders have publicized their "concern" about the activities developed by the base and warned that the Asian country "could violate the terms of the agreement"signed between Beijing and the Argentine state.

Before a report presented to Congress of his country, the head of the southern command of the United States, admiral Craig Faller mentioned the risks of global security who represents the project. According to the official efforts of the governments of Cristina Kirchner and Xi Jinping, the purpose of the base was to carry out a scientific activity for "civil purposes". But since the administration of Donald Trump's president, do not see it that way and consider that "white Americans" are at stake.

"The Chinese presence and its activities in the installation of space observation deeply in Argentina are also worrying", Began Faller in his presentation on page 7 of his 19-page report, presented to the Committee of Armed Forces of the US Senate, published by the newspaper of Buenos Aires. Clarin.

"Beijing may violate the terms of its agreement with Argentina that it will organize (on a lunar basis) civilian activities and could have the ability to potentially monitor the target targets of the United States, its allies and partners in space activities, "warned the high ranking Southern Command.

For the first time, through Faller, Washington has formalized its position on this basis. In China, they badured that the station held a key role last January, when there was a pioneer landing a spaceship of this country on the dark side of the moon.

Report on the Chinese Space Station.

The truth is that the issue is part of regular conversations between officials of Donald Trump and Mauricio Macri. Among others, the former Secretary of Defense James Mattishe raised when he visited Argentina last year, the newspaper reported.

Faller also said Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE "have aggressively penetrated the region, putting intellectual property, private data and government secrets at risk." Huawei is China's third-largest mobile phone company and is maintaining a strong judicial offer with the US government.

In addition, Southern Command warned the region's governments. He said that he continued "to be interested in Chinese information systems., our ability and desire to share information about compromised networks will suffer"The warning touches Argentina closely because the Asian giant is one of the country's major trading partners.

Unexpectedly, the Chinese channel entered the agenda in 2015 and was approved without further debate in Congress by the then President, Cristina Kirchner, and her Xi Jinping. And although it changed the political color, Mauricio Macri's government respected the agreements concluded.

In 2016, the Chancellor Susana Malcorra reviewed the terms of this agreementbut no control mechanism has been put in place for the Argentine authorities to guarantee that it is not used for military purposes.

The discord around the station, located 20 kilometers from the city of Bajada del Agrio, in the Neuquén, is placed under the orbit of the Chinese space program, the General Control of Chinese Satellite Tracking and Launching (CLTC). This body depends on the armed wing of the government, the People's Liberation Army (EPL).