CHINA’S EXPANSION INTO AND U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM ARGENTINA’S TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SPACE INDUSTRIES AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY

The U.S. Government is waking up to China’s
growing presence in Latin America. For the last
several years as U.S. policymakers’ attention and
resources, largely diverted from Latin America, have
been focused on the Middle East, China has pursued
a policy of economic engagement with the region.
Sino-Latin American trade has sky-rocketed, and
Chinese investment in the region is picking up. In this
monograph, Ms. Janie Hulse, a Latin American specialist
based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, argues that increased
Chinese investment in regional telecommunications
and space industries has implications for U.S. national
security. She believes that globalization, advances
in information technology and China’s growing
capacity and interest in information warfare make
the United States particularly vulnerable. Ms. Hulse
details China’s expansion into and U.S. withdrawal
from these intelligence-related industries in Argentina
and highlights associated risks for the United States.
The author calls for the U.S. Government to react to this
current trend by increasing its engagement in regional
strategic industries and bettering relationships with its
southern neighbors.