The United States warns of China's expanding influence in the Pacific and Latin America. Writes UNN with reference to FT.
General Laura Richardson, former head of the U.S. Southern Command, which covers Latin America and the Caribbean, warns that Chinese warships could use Peru's large new port.
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In Peru, the Chinese are building a deep-water port that is set to become a record-breaking facility. Mario de las Casas, director of the Chinese shipping company Cosco, told the media about the giant construction site where construction is currently underway: “1500 workers are working around the clock to “build the new pearl of the New Silk Road” - the deep-water port of Changkai on the Pacific coast, 60 kilometers north of the capital Lima.
A megaport in Peru could be used by Beijing's navy, a senior U.S. general has said, highlighting the security risks to the United States from the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America.
It can be used as a dual-purpose facility, it's a deep-water port. (The navy) could use it, absolutely.”...it's a play we've seen elsewhere, not just in Latin America
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Twenty-two countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have joined Beijing's One Belt, One Road initiative, a landmark Chinese infrastructure development project abroad. China is expanding its presence in what was once called the United States' “backyard.