China-Latin America Military Engagement: Good Will, Good Business, and Strategic Position

In analyzing the implications of the Chinese military presence in the region, this author recognizes that such presence can contribute to legitimate regional security needs, but also foment misunderstanding. It argues that the United States should work with China to achieve greater transparency regarding those activities, and to engage the PRC in a positive fashion regarding their activities in the hemisphere, including regular dialogue and the establishment of mechanisms for resolving misunderstanding. In addition, however, it must improve its understanding of the specific dangers and threats that could flow out of this presence, using methodologies such as scenario-based gaming, to see how different actors in the region could seek to leverage or be influenced in their actions by the presence of China, including indirect pressures, and how the commercial and other interests in Latin America of actors such as Russia, Iran, and India might play into the unfolding dynamic.