WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2022) The United States must figure out how to deal with China's influence in South America through its Belt and Road Initiative, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) head Gen. Laura Richardson said on Thursday.
"(China's Belt and Road Initiative) is absolutely something that we need to deal with and we need to counter and we need to figure it out or it's just going to continue to cause insecurity and instability, not just in my region but the entire globe," Richardson said during a virtual panel discussion with the Institute of the Americas.
Twenty-five of the 31 countries in the South America region have One Belt One Road Initiative infrastructure projects that are ongoing, and 21 of the 31 countries have signed up for China's Belt and Road Initiative, Richardson said.
Richardson pointed out that the US Army Corps of Engineers is also working on projects in South America that can offer an alternative to Chinese-funded infrastructure projects.
The Army Corps of Engineers is working with Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, on a water resources database for the La Plata River Basin, which affects all five of those countries, Richardson said.
In Chile, the Army Corps is providing expert exchanges on issues related to illegal and unregulated fishing, Richardson said. Ecuador, Honduras, Argentina, Peru, and the Dominican Republic are also receiving some type of assistance from the Army Corps, Richardson added.
The Belt and Road Initiative is China's international project seeking to promote cooperation between Beijing and over 60 of its trading partners in Asia, Africa and Europe. In February, Argentina announced it will join the Chinese Belt and Road trade initiative and receive funding worth $23.7 billion for various projects from Beijing.
