【By Observer Net, Yuan Jiaqi】
During a meeting with Argentine President Milei in late October, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bensons maliciously implied that Argentina would have to "expel China" in order to receive U.S. economic aid to get through the election crisis, specifically mentioning Chinese-built "ports, military bases, and observation facilities." Shortly after, the 40-meter radio telescope project (CART) between China and Argentina ran into trouble.
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post, Marcelo Segura, the head of the CART project at Argentina's main scientific institution, the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), revealed that due to pressure from the United States, the CART project, which was originally scheduled to be put into space observation within a few months, has been stuck in long-term stagnation.
According to reports, the Argentine Foreign Ministry, the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, and CONICET have not yet responded.
Segura said that as the largest single-dish radio telescope in Latin America, CART is expected to bring new breakthroughs in star formation, pulsar research, and exploration of the center of the Milky Way.
However, the project, originally scheduled for completion in March next year, has been delayed since June this year: an international cooperation agreement was not renewed, leading to the detention of parts sent by China by the Argentine customs.
The electrical engineer who has participated in the project since 2015 told the Hong Kong media, "This has caused us a big problem; the goods were detained at the customs since September 3rd, and we can't assemble the remaining components. The entire project is on the brink of collapse."
Segura explained that currently, the CART has completed 50% to 60% of its construction work, with 80% of the assembly done, and only needs additional receivers to complete the installation. "It will at least be delayed for another two months... If we receive the parts tomorrow, the completion time may be in April or May next year."
He also mentioned that the project team has not received any official notice, "From the report, we see that the current government of Argentina is in line with the U.S. position, opposing such Chinese facilities projects being promoted in the country."
Regarding the absurd claim by successive U.S. governments that the Chinese observatory secretly conducts military activities, Segura refuted it, pointing out that the design purpose of CART is geodetic research on the shape, size, and gravitational field of the Earth, not tracking satellites.
"Technically speaking, such radio telescopes cannot track satellites: the instruments and the speed of satellite operation do not match, and the telescope's movement speed is completely跟不上," he sighed, "These key technical facts are unfortunately not considered by the decision-makers."
He also revealed that CONICET has stopped supporting the project, "It's a large project, and the most ideal situation was for CONICET to be involved, so that the Argentine Radio Astronomy Institute, the Large Millimeter Array of Latin America, and other institutions could carry out cooperation."
According to the report, the initial cooperation agreement for the CART project was signed in 2015 by the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National University of San Juan, CONICET, and the San Juan provincial government, and received support from the International Astronomical Union and the Argentine Astronomical Society.
"The entire scientific community expects the project to proceed smoothly," Segura said, adding that they are hoping for a turning point at a meeting on November 5th.
"We expect the Argentine customs to meet with the National University of San Juan to discuss solutions and determine the fate of the detained parts. The current detention has no justification, and before that, we were powerless," he said.
Official promotional image of the China-Argentina Radio Astronomy Observation Base
The Science (Science) website, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), cited researchers' views that the root cause of the CART's dilemma lies in the Milei government's attempt to establish close ties with Trump, while the Trump administration has made curbing China's global influence a top priority.
It was disclosed that the trouble first appeared in June this year, when Argentine research institutions failed to renew the China-Argentina science cooperation agreement on time; in September, the Buenos Aires customs detained key dish antenna parts made in China. Following this, in October, the U.S. and Argentine summit saw the U.S. Treasury Secretary use $200 billion in economic aid to coerce the Milei government to suspend its strategic cooperation with China, including plans to build "observation facilities."
María Verónica Benavente, who previously served as the Minister of Science in San Juan province, directly pointed out that the U.S. stance was "targeting the CART project," saying, "The White House's intervention is naked."
The latest obstacle emerged on October 17, when the Milei government issued a new regulation requiring "any radar, observatory, or aerospace system construction" to be approved by the Ministry of Defense, causing concern for the director of the Felix Aguilard Observatory, where CART is built, Ricardo Podestá, "CART is 100% a scientific project; if it were a military project, everyone would see it immediately."
Another person pointed out that this requirement was unnecessary, because CART had already received approval from the Argentine Ministry of Defense in 2016. "I don't know what the current government wants anymore," said Jorge Castro, the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the National University of San Juan.
Roberto Salvarezza, Chairman of the Buenos Aires Research Committee, criticized more sharply, "The policies of the Milei government are purely a show of loyalty to the Trump administration, damaging the interests of the entire Argentine astronomy community, which is too extreme."
As a senior official of the project's leading party, Benavente was deeply distressed, "The project is nearly 90% complete, success is within reach. That's why the current situation is even more unacceptable. We definitely don't want it to become a pile of scrap."
Argentine media reported that the project's obstruction has thoroughly enraged the Argentine science and astronomy community. Previously, Milei drastically cut the budget for scientific research and education, which had already dealt a devastating blow to the field.
The highest council of the National University of San Juan also issued a new statement, demanding the restoration of CART operations, expressing anger at the "obvious foreign interests intervening in Argentina's technological development, especially harming Sino-Argentine international scientific cooperation."
The Argentine media "El Destape" reported that San Juan was chosen as the site for the project because of its altitude of 2,400 meters, thin atmosphere, good stability, low humidity, and minimal electromagnetic interference, making it an ideal place for astronomical research.
After completion, the China's FAST radio telescope in Guizhou, located in the Northern Hemisphere, will complement the CART in the Southern Hemisphere, enabling similar observations through different wavelengths.
Castro commented, "China's choice of Argentina, especially San Juan, is itself a great honor."
"I don't know if there will be such an opportunity in the future. Because just like investment cooperation, if we cannot fulfill our commitments, we are setting a bad precedent. In the future, no one will be willing to invest in research here."
"What's happening now is very painful, regardless of the reason, if this project ultimately fails, it will be a 'scientific suicide,' " he earnestly said, "It makes no sense at all. Honestly, I can't understand the logic behind it. But I'm not being sarcastic. We still hope the decision-makers will reconsider and continue to support the project. If that happens, I'll be the first to cheer."
Castro finally said meaningfully, "China has shown great patience. They told us that installing equipment of this scale in China takes about 11 months, and we've already spent 10 years."
"But there are limits to everything."
This article is an exclusive article by Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7567781611488543275/
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