(Photo Credit: China Daily)
It’s not supposed to be used for military purposes, but there’s little to stop Beijing from doing so.
In a new report today, Reuters has noted that China’s military-run space station in Argentina remains just as big a mystery as it did several months ago when TruNews first reported on its existence.
The purpose of the 16-story antenna is ostensibly meant to further civilian research, but the Reuters report notes that there is no enforcement mechanism to ensure it isn’t used for military purposes. It quotes Argentine lawyer Juan Uriburu, who has worked on two other major projects involving China:
“It really doesn’t matter what it says in the contract or in the agreement. How do you make sure they play by the rules?
“I would say that, given that one of the actors involved in the agreements reports directly to the Chinese military, it is at least intriguing to see that the Argentine government did not deal with this issue with greater specificity.”
Unlike the U.S., China’s space program is run through its military, the People’s Liberation Army. The agreement to operate the space station, located on nearly 500 acres of land in the Patagonia region, is managed by the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General.
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President Mauricio Macri’s former foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, said Argentina has no physical oversight of the station’s operations.
White House National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said:
“The Patagonia ground station, agreed to in secret by a corrupt and financially vulnerable government a decade ago, is another example of opaque and predatory Chinese dealings that undermine the sovereignty of host nations.”
According to locals living in the area, approximately 30 Chinese nationals work and live on site. It employs no local people and locals have no access to the facility.
Full article: Chinese Space Station in Argentina Shrouded in Secrecy (TruNews)
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