China’s attempt to build influence in Latin America includes efforts to forge stronger military ties such as through the sale of military equipment, particularly to countries more economically, politically, and ideologically committed to Beijing, regional defense experts say.
For instance, sometime in the first trimester of 2024, according to Argentine news site Pucará Defensa, the Integral Aerospace Defense Command of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Armed Force received from China an anti-drone system capable of detecting, interfering, and disabling frequency bands of video transmission and control of unmanned aerial vehicles.
“In its quest for cooperation in the defense field, China has for several years now been increasingly involved in military training and arms trade in Latin America, mainly with Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia,” Fabián Calle, professor of International Relations at Argentina’s Austral University, told Diálogo on April 22. “This poses important challenges and geopolitical and security implications in our hemisphere.”
Unfulfilled promises
Although Chinese armament has long been plagued by low-quality and performance, and Latin American armed forces have favored Western military equipment, China has made a push in the region by offering loans, low prices, and technology transfer, which in most cases are incomplete, Spanish defense news site Infodefensa reported.
Military cooperation agreements between China and Venezuela took a turn in 2005 with the purchase of seven Chinese radars for its air defense system, Infodefensa reported. Venezuela also acquired some transport aircraft. “By the amount of material traded, Venezuela is so far the main client of the Chinese defense industry in Latin America,” Infodefensa reported.
Foot in the door
“China’s incursion into the region’s military market was initially in the form of non-lethal aid such as uniforms, medical supplies, hospital equipment, and training in Chinese military academies for officers of the armed forces of some South American countries,” Calle said. “But then it expanded the supply by selling war materiel such as aircraft, ships, and various troop transports.”
According to Evan Ellis, professor of Latin America Research at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Latin American countries have had major problems with their arms purchases and donations from China. “At least four of the K-8W fighters Venezuela purchased from China had crashed in 2022, with some problems attributed to errors arising from poorly translated Chinese technical manuals. In Bolivia, two of the six Chinese K-8Ws have similarly crashed,” he said in a report.
Beyond armaments, China is also expanding its defense interests in airspace. On March 19, a Chinese delegation signed in Managua “several cooperation agreements on space issues with Nicaragua,” the Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime said, AFP reported.
In September 2023, Venezuela and China signed a memorandum of understanding, to “establish a broader cooperation in the processing and analysis of satellite images of various kinds,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said at the time.
Technical problems
While China has been attempting to lure Latin America countries to purchase its military equipment, these have chosen to pass, instead seeking quality and performance that Chinese assets and gear lack.
In mid-April, for example, Argentina sealed the deal for 24 F-16 jets for $300 million, choosing this option over China’s JF-17 aircraft that have been plagued with serious structural and engine problems.
“China offers armament to the countries of the region but leaves a sea of doubts about the structure and performance of those weapons, as well as the necessary logistic chain for their maintenance, where in countless occasions when it reaches the hands of the buyer, that equipment is already obsolete for its operability,” Calle said.
This lack of technological compatibility with Chinese military equipment also creates obstacles once used, and leave acquiring countries facing difficulties in obtaining spare parts.
“The democratic governments of Latin America should be on alert if they accept this type of products, which are then not suitable for the functionality of their armed forces and finally cause to invest large sums in materials without any effective use,” concluded Calle.