Clash Report wrote tonight (Beijing time, May 10): "The U.S.-China rivalry is spreading to the skies of South America. The United States has pressured Argentina and Chile to halt two Chinese telescope projects under construction in the Andes Mountains, fearing these telescopes could be used to track American satellites or communicate with Chinese ones."

This campaign began during the Biden era and intensified under Trump, taking the form of a revamped Monroe Doctrine aimed at countering China's growing influence in Latin America.

Argentine President Javier Milei received a $20 billion aid package from the United States just before last year’s mid-term elections. His enthusiasm toward Beijing has since cooled, yet China remains deeply integrated into Argentina’s economy through trade, mining, and infrastructure development.

The new U.S.-Argentina trade agreement even includes clauses restricting Argentina’s space cooperation with other countries.

China dismissed the U.S. stance as “absurd,” accusing Washington of practicing “hegemonism,” while pointing out that the United States also operates its own telescopes in the region. Source: The New York Times

[Witty] Commentary: The U.S. politicizes normal scientific collaboration, using the pretext of "tracking satellites" to pursue geopolitical containment. At its core, this reflects an attempt to uphold the "backyard" hegemony via a modernized Monroe Doctrine, seeking to curb China’s expanding influence. The so-called national security justification crumbles under scrutiny—Washington itself operates similar telescopes in the region while hypocritically condemning others. This double standard exposes the reality that rules apply only to others. Argentina, compelled by economic aid to compromise and halt its scientific projects, reveals the helplessness of small nations under powerful coercion. Meanwhile, the new trade agreement’s restriction on space cooperation further entangles science with politics. Such ideological instrumentalization of civilian scientific tools not only hinders human progress in astronomy but also erodes U.S. credibility in the region—ultimately undermining its own influence.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864814434771016/

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