International affairs analysts believe that Argentina’s decision this week to purchase U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets and announced in early April to cooperate with the U.S. military at the Argentine naval base will have a profound impact on the United States and China. Southern tip of South America.

Argentina’s decision to purchase 24 F-16s from Denmark rather than compete with China has led some Chinese commentators to lament the setback. For more than a decade, Beijing has been trying to sell Argentina the JF-17 fighter jets jointly developed by China and Pakistan.

London-based Argentina expert Christopher Ecclestone said the choice was “somewhat inevitable” given the pro-democratic, anti-communist stance of recently elected Argentine president Javier Milley.

Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Washington, said that before Milley took office, Argentina appeared to be on a path of deepening political, economic and military cooperation with Beijing that threatened Argentina’s develop. U.S. interests in the region and beyond.

If China succeeds in selling jets and other weapons, including armored vehicles, to Argentina, it will gain access to the country’s defense and security infrastructure, Fisher said, adding that “other Latin American countries will be encouraged to follow its lead.” Footsteps. “

Straits of Magellan

Analysts said Milley’s decision to pursue broader cooperation with the United States, including establishing a naval base near the Strait of Magellan, was equally important. China’s ongoing efforts to cooperate with Argentina in building the base have been widely reported.

Milley said in a speech earlier this month that Argentina would coordinate closely with the United States on the development of the Ushuaia naval base.

Mire made the remarks after flying from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia to meet with U.S. Army four-star general Laura Richardson. This month’s visit to Argentina is her third since taking charge of U.S. Southern Command in October 2021.

“General Laura Richardson’s visit to Ushuaia and Milay’s trip there to hold a joint press conference is in itself a dramatic shift in Argentina’s foreign policy,” Fisher told VOA.

Fischer said Milley’s actions since taking office had reversed “the momentum built by communist China in Latin America,” which he described as a counterattack against Beijing’s ambitions for global hegemony.

Experts say the importance of the Ushuaia naval base is related to its geographical location. It faces the Strait of Magellan and Antarctica further south, making it as strategically important as the Panama Canal.

Fisher said that if China gained control of the Strait of Magellan, it could prevent the U.S. Navy from moving military power between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Instead, “Argentina and Latin America’s bottom-tier United States have worked together to effectively prevent China from entering the South Atlantic from the west,” Ecclestone noted in a message posted on LinkedIn.

US response

Richardson detailed other U.S. arms transfers and investments planned or underway, a sign that the U.S. is beginning to pay more attention to Latin America after years of watching China advance toward its southern border.

She told Argentinian media that 250 Stryker armored vehicles are coming, in addition to the F-16 fighter jets and a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft that the United States gifted to Argentina after an 11-month lease. Richardson said there was also discussion of building a plant in Argentina to maintain Stryker.

Other equipment that could help Argentina conduct maritime patrols, including P-3 reconnaissance aircraft and King Air aircraft, are also on the list, she said.

Richardson also revealed that the United States is about to complete the construction of an emergency operations center in Neuquén province in western Argentina, where Beijing has been operating a deep space station since 2018.

Experts say the station functions similarly to Chinese overseas military bases and is closely related to electronic warfare and space warfare, including tracking and surveillance, a charge China denies.

“Next we will install computers, screens and other IT equipment,” Richardson said in an interview with Infobae, Argentina’s most visited news site.

When asked about China’s intrusion into Latin American countries’ 5G networks, Richardson urged countries to reflect on the nature of communist governments. “If they don’t respect their own people, why do we think they will respect our people?”

She also pointed out that all state-owned enterprises stationed overseas and involved in strategic projects must abide by the laws set by the Chinese government and serve the interests and needs of the ruling Communist Party.

The Pentagon also approved funding for a seven-year program, the Theater Sustainment Partners Program, to help countries maintain any equipment purchased from the United States, Richardson said in the interview.

Richardson said she didn’t understand why Latin American countries couldn’t meet NATO standards for running and operating defense equipment. She said the United States is committed to working with the nearly 30 countries south of its border to strengthen their capabilities.

In this regard, Buenos Aires goes all out. Argentina sent a letter of intent to NATO on Thursday, asking to become one of the organization’s global partners.

In another sign of reciprocity, the U.S. Embassy in Argentina announced Thursday that Washington will provide Argentina with $40 million to purchase F-16s.

“This is the first time Argentina has received a U.S. FMF [foreign military financing] Since 2003,” according to a press release from the embassy.