US military cooperation with Ecuador -- Galapagos Islands

[Winehole23]

China is winning the battle for economic dominance in South America, this is preparation for a future war and a probable threat to China's new deepwater port in Chancay, Peru.

On December 10, the Governing Council of the Special Regime of the Galápagos (CGREG) approved the Comprehensive Security Project in the Island Region and the Instructions for the Application of Cooperation Agreements between Ecuador and the United States, two resolutions that seek to address shared security challenges in the province of Galapagos. With a few strokes of a pen, the US military cooperation treaties with Ecuador signed on February 15, 2024, came into force for the island archipelago.

As such, the US will now be able to install military personnel, weapons and other equipment on the island chain, which has been recognised as a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site since 1978 — in a country whose cons ution expressly prohibits the establishment of foreign military bases.

Of greatest concern to the islands’ residents is the resolution’s admission that implementing the project will require adapting or building additional facilities in local ports or airports. US war ships and submarines will also be able to dock at the islands’ ports. In fact, according to Radio Pi ha, Ecuadorian government officials are already on their way “to receive the first ships and crews from the US, scheduled to arrive in the coming days.”

In his last months in office, Lasso signed three agreements with Washington allowing the US to maintain military personnel on Ecuadorian territory with total freedom of movement and full legal immunity.

FT Confirms What We've Been Saying for Three Years: The US Is Losing the "Battle... for Latin America" to China | naked capitalism

[Winehole23]

China’s trade with the region grew 26-fold between 2000 and 2020, from $12 billion to $315 billion, and is expected to more than double by 2035, to more than $700 billion.

[Recent data suggest it is well on track to achieving that. In 2023, the total trade volume between China and Latin America reached a record $480 billion, according to China’s National Customs Administration]

In the last 20 years China has moved from an almost negligible position as a source of imports and destination of exports within the region to become its second trade partner, at the expense not just of the US but also Europe and certain Latin American countries such as Brazil whose share of inter-regional trade has fallen. According to the World Economic Forum, “China will approach—and could even surpass—the US as LAC’s top trading partner. In 2000, Chinese participation accounted for less than 2% of LAC’s total trade. In 2035, it could reach 25%.