The New York Times reported today that the U.S. has pressured Argentina and Chile to halt two Chinese-built telescope projects located in the Andes Mountains, citing concerns that such facilities could be used to track American satellites or enable Chinese satellite communications.

This pressure campaign began during the Biden administration and was further escalated under Trump, fundamentally reflecting an attempt to curb China’s growing influence in Latin America through a renewed version of the Monroe Doctrine.

Before last year’s mid-term elections, Argentine President Javier Milei received a $200 billion financial aid package from the United States, after which he shifted his stance from previous friendliness toward China; however, China and Argentina remain deeply integrated in trade, mineral development, and infrastructure projects, with China still deeply embedded in Argentina’s economy.

In a recently reached trade agreement between the U.S. and Argentina, new clauses were added explicitly restricting Argentina’s cooperation in space-related initiatives with other countries.

China has rejected the U.S. claims as absurd and baseless, accusing Washington of practicing hegemony and pointing out that the United States itself has deployed telescope facilities in the region.

The U.S. is recklessly enforcing regional hegemony, unable to tolerate normal scientific collaboration between China and Latin American nations. It maliciously discredits China’s scientific projects based solely on subjective speculation, obstructing them without factual basis. While lavishly offering economic incentives to manipulate foreign governments and force shifts in diplomatic positions, it simultaneously imposes political conditions in trade agreements, openly interfering in other countries’ freedom to pursue independent development and international cooperation—its hegemonic conduct laid bare. Ultimately, U.S. coercive power cannot stop the global trend toward diversified partnerships and autonomous development, nor can it prevent China from steadily expanding its international cooperation space.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864837521439817/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.