Wendy Sherman warned Argentina for plane purchase and nuclear cooperation with China

2023-04-18 01:30:00

In recent weeks, senior United States officials have paraded through Argentine soil in an intense diplomatic exchange that followed the meeting between Joe Biden and Alberto Fernández in Washington at the end of March. One of them was the Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, who toured the Argentine capital with a speech to “strengthen democracy” before the accelerated advance of China in the country.

Two of the most important areas touched on by the US president’s envoy were cooperation on matters nuclear And Military, in line with the programs that unite Argentina and the Asian giant and that put Washington’s influence in the South Atlantic in check. Among them, the possible purchase of Chinese fighter planes JF-17 Thunder negotiated by Minister Jorge Taiana to reinforce the Defense of the country that used to be a regional potential.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman left Argentina on April 14.

The warning by China, the IMF and the “pain” of the Argentines: what Wendy Sherman’s visit left behind

To this is added the stuck negotiation for the purchase of between 12 and 18 fighter planes F-18 Hornet y F-16 to replace the obsolete Mirage of the Air Force. “There is ongoing conversations about planes that I think they are going in a positive direction but not fully resolved“, replied the deputy head of US diplomacy at the Bosch Palace during the meeting with journalists attended by PROFILE.

However, in recent years the negotiations have been delayed in line with the British veto that prevents Argentina from acquiring military equipment that contains components from the United Kingdom, a measure that the British have supported since the Malvinas war and that, according to government rhetoric, , “conditions Argentine sovereignty”.

Negotiations for the JF-17 Thunder aircraft

The F-17 Thunder fighter, known in China as the FC-1 Xiaolong, is a fighter aircraft that was jointly developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

At the beginning of April, the Argentines received a delegation from the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry of National Defense of China (SASTIND). The company’s number two, Zhan Bin Xu, met with Taiana to inquire into the possibility of buying the combat aircraft of Sino-Pakistani origin. Meanwhile, it is expected that in the coming days China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) make a formal offer and have an Argentine delegation travel to that country to see the military equipment production facilities.

Beyond the practical implications, the transaction takes on another dimension in the context of the strategic competition between the United States and China and its impact on the region. Added to this are the geopolitical consequences that could result from the agreement sealed by Argentina, considering that the arms purchase is not neutral but it represents a “political statement” according to an analysis by Andrei Serbin Pont and Juan Battaleme.

The Government deployed combat aircraft in front of the Malvinas Islands to “monitor and control our spaces”

After Antony Blinken’s number two withdrew, this Monday, April 17, the head of the United States Southern Command disembarked in Buenos Aires, Laura Richardson, in charge of looking after the interests and security in South America. The official had met on almost the same date in 2022 with Vice President Cristina Kirchner, who had conveyed a similar message regarding US aid to modernize the Argentine Air Force and thus bring it under the umbrella Western defense against Chinese interference.

This Monday the United States ambassador to Argentina, Marc Stanley, received the head of the United States Southern Command, Laura Richardson.

Nuclear cooperation

During her visit to Argentina, Wendy Sherman met with Ministers Santiago Cafiero and Sergio Massa, but also with the Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royonand its Mining pair, Fernanda Avila. At the end of the day, he gave a speech in which he spoke about cooperation in nuclear matters between Argentina and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In this sense, he stressed that although Argentina “understands nuclear energy well” regarding the manufacture of small reactors, the country should “be cautious” when agreeing with Beijing.

“We are not asking them to choose between us and China, although I think we have superior products to offer. But what we are saying is that they have to be careful, understand what it is they are buying,” he said. Among the reasons, he highlighted the labor force for the production of these inputs and the financing terms of the projects. “Argentine security and sovereignty, will they be protected?” he wondered.

For its part, in a gesture of complicity, the Argentine government suspended a series of Sino-Argentine programs that worried the US government, among them the installation of the quarter central nuclearin order to show itself aligned with the country whose support is essential for the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

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