Natasha Niebieskikwiat
02/13/2021 15:03
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 02/13/2021 3:03 PM
Former Foreign Minister
Jorge Faurie
linked the United States' nuclear powered submarine Greeneville's navigation off the Argentine coast with the recent refusal of the Government to participate in joint exercises with a US Coast Guard patrol.
And he also considered it an exercise as part of the
"strategic perception of the United States and the defense of its interests in this region, especially in the framework of its superpower rivalry with China."
“The Greeneville Pass and its operational link with a British aircraft from the Falkland Islands generates a confusing episode but which, I believe, cannot be separated from the US strategic scenario in that region, which also has projection over Antarctica, with another incident very recently in that area, where Argentina
denied entry to our waters to the US Coast Guard patrol vessel "Stone"
, alleging alleged issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, "the Foreign Minister of the previous administration, who is also career ambassador.
Faurie's statements come after the strong impact on the national scene of a Commander Submarine Force Atlantic tweet that in the last hours reported that a United Kingdom plane had flown over the Falkland Islands (it actually said Falkland Islands) collaborating with its submarine USS Greeneville - which is nuclear powered and has the capacity to carry atomic weapons - in the South Atlantic.
Shortly afterwards, Foreign Minister
Felipe Solá
issued a strong statement stating that the Government expressed
“its grave concern” over
said information and requested information from the United States Embassy, while reminding it of the United Nations agreements on the conflict of sovereignty with Great Britain for the Malvinas and international agreements against nuclear weapons such as that of Tlatelolco.
Meanwhile, the former foreign minister sought to relate these events to the others and said that "this latest episode actually seems to allude more than anything to
not allowing the North American patrolman" Stone "- which has sophisticated cybernetic equipment - to collect -
during his presence in Argentine waters - elements about the
accentuated Chinese presence and the illegal and abusive exploitation carried out by their fishing boats in the area of Mile 201 and also in our waters ".
He added that "this Argentine decision to prevent access to the Stone in our waters creates a clear imbalance that favors Chinese interests and affects those of the US, all under a very ideological perspective that does not favor the equidistance that Argentina must fight to preserve before Chinese bid -U.S".
Faurie does not believe that the Government is facing a conflict with the United States or a fight between the government of Alberto Fernández and Joe Biden, but rather the interest of the Democrat to repair the internal wounds of that country and those of this country with its allies historical internationals ”.
He points out that in the face of a sample of a "wayward" Argentina as in the Stone episode, and "too much carte blanche here", Washington proceeds with its policies on a global stage centered on its dispute with China.
"The presence by weight of the Chinese fishing fleet (although it is not the only flag operating in that area) worries the United States, since it is a region far from China and in which
Chinese fishing vessels not only catch fish but also that are also dedicated to intelligence on available natural resources and on strategic and defense aspects in this area.
Regarding the connection between the US submarine and the British plane that cooperated with it, it has links with the Malvinas conflict that, for Faurie, “cannot fail to be read in terms of an“ alert ”for and about Argentine foreign actions, reminding us of the importance and convenience of maintaining a balanced position in this covert struggle of the superpowers for the definition and demarcation of their strategic areas of influence.
And he stressed the importance that, together with Brazil, the South Atlantic area is "free" of all weapons and any military career.