The United States has frozen Chinese astronomy projects in Argentina and Chile, fearing their potential military application, The New York Times reports.
Under pressure from Washington, Argentine authorities have halted the completion of the largest Chinese radio telescope in South America in the province of San Juan. According to the newspaper, US officials are urging Buenos Aires to reconsider cooperation with China in the space sector from 2021. Washington fears that the facilities could be used to track US satellites and communicate with Chinese spacecraft.
The $32 million “China-Argentina“ radio telescope was being built jointly by the National University of San Juan and the National Astronomical Observatories of China. After the agreement between the two countries expired, Argentine customs officials confiscated key components of the facility, effectively putting the project on hold.
The New York Times reports that a similar situation occurred in Chile, where authorities halted construction of a Chinese observatory in the Atacama Desert after pressure from the United States.
The Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires called Washington's actions an attempt to "contain and suppress China." Beijing insists the projects are purely civilian and scientific in nature.
The United States has previously criticized a Chinese satellite station in the Argentine province of Neuquén, built in 2015.