China infiltrating US "Red Zone" with investments in Latin American nations

US Southern Command SOUTHCOM General Laura Richardson said China is getting nearer to the United States by investing and expanding infrastructure in Latin American countries through its infamous Belt and Road Initiative Voice of America VOA reportedThey are on the 20yard line to our homeland SOUTHCOM General Laura Richardson told the Washingtonbased Center for Strategic and International Studies using an American football analogy to illustrate how close China is to scoring on the United States Or we could say theyre on the first or second island chain to our homeland she addedLike other US military leaders Richardson stated that Beijing had not yet established a real military post in the Western Hemisphere However worries have grown particularly in light of June reports indicating that China may be planning to expand further after upgrading an intelligence collection facility in Cuba in 2019Theres not a Chinese base yet Richardson said But I see with all of this critical infrastructure investment with these BRI Belt and Road Initiative projects that there could possibly be some bases someday she addedThere is a risk according to SOUTHCOMs Richardson citing in particular Chinas use of dualuse technologies to construct deepwater ports along vital waterways like the Panama Canal and the Strait of Magellan which could allow Chinese officials to swiftly switch the facilities from civilian to military use according to VOARichardson also expressed alarm over the spread of Chinese telecom infrastructure in South and Central America saying that five nations have already sourced their 5G mobile phone networks from ChinaAnother 24 nations according to her depend on China for their 3G or 4G mobile networks and several of them are being given almost zero cost upgrades that would keep them dependent on Beijing for their communication requirements according to VOA And so far Richardson noted the US has nothing better to offerWe are getting outcompeted by the Chinese right now she said We have to be able to have alternative methods alternative companies alternative options for them the Latin American countries to be able to select According to VOA Chinas attempts to develop vital infrastructure across South and Central America are preparing its armed forces for a potential foothold on the US borderChina is in the red zone the commander of US Southern Command said on Friday warning that many of Chinas economic initiatives can easily be flipped to support a Chinese military presence This is not the first time SOUTHCOMs Richardson has warned about Chinas inroads into Central and South AmericaDuring an appearance earlier this year at the Washingtonbased Atlantic Council she spoke of the tentacles of the PRC reaching across the Western Hemisphere noting 21 of 31 Latin American countries had signed on to Beijings Belt and Road Initiative with 17 welcoming Chinese investment in their deepwater portsAcircChinas embassy in Washington however dismissed such concerns as lies and rumours and slander To date over threequarters of countries around the world have joined this initiative which has generated 420000 jobs in these countries and helped more and more countries speed up economic growth Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA via emailThe BRI is wellreceived among the world most importantly because it is an initiative of extensive consultation joint contribution and shared benefits Liu added China never imposes its will on other countries nor does it slip any selfish geopolitical agenda into the initiative he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever