During the South American Defense Conference taking place in Quito, Richardson headed against the Asian giant. “Actors like the People’s Republic of China are also causing harm in our region,” he said according to the official translation.
He added that “Independent studies by Latin American organizations have concluded that many of the megaprojects financed by China are causing erosion in rivers, polluting water, destroying fertile land and destabilizing delicate ecosystems.”
Richardson cited as an example the Chinese fishing fleets that tend to park each year in front of the exclusive economic zone of the Ecuadorian Galapagos Islands, threatening their delicate marine reserve.
In addition, companies from that country built hydroelectric plants in Ecuador that have faults, as well as exploit oil and minerals.
The South American Defense Conference “Southdec 2022”in which representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay participate, will last until Thursday in the Ecuadorian capital.
The event will address topics such as drug trafficking, mining Y illegal fishing, organized crime Y cyber defense.
According to Richardson, organizations linked to China are “trying to manipulate populations through disinformation campaigns and malicious cyber activities and continue to support authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.”
The Ecuadorian Defense Minister, Luis Lara, commented that today “it becomes increasingly urgent to find a cooperation mechanism (…) in the face of the onslaught of drug trafficking, transnational criminal organizations.”
Ecuador maintains a war against drug trafficking, which disputes power in the streets and prisons, unleashing a wave of crime. Clashes between prisoners with links to drug traffickers have left nearly 400 dead since February 2021.
The nation seized a record 210 tons of drugs. So far this year, seizures reach 140 tons.
Lithium
During an event in Miami months ago, General Richardson had accused Moscow and Beijing of “undermining democracies” in the region and expressed concern about the influence of both countries in Latin America, a land “very rich in minerals” such as lithium. , said.
“The ‘lithium triangle’ is in this region. There are many things that this region has to offer”pointed out and pointed out that China “is playing chess” in South America.
In that sense, he argued that China invested more than $50 billion in the region or “even close to $100 billion” in the last five years.
Source: Ambito
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