US military tracks 23 Chinese port projects in Latin America, general tells Congress

The US military is monitoring 23 Chinese port projects and 12 space-enabling facilities across Latin America and considers every one of them “a potential dual-use asset” that could support Chinese military operations, the top US commander for South America told Congress on Tuesday.General Francis Donovan, head of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), made the disclosure during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on US military posture in the western hemisphere.Asked by Lance Gooden, a Republican congressman from Texas, whether Chinese commercial projects in the region could serve military purposes, Donovan said the Pentagon treats all of them as dual use regardless of how they are built.“I consider them all dual-use,” Donovan said, “and specifically whether they’re built with a military infrastructure background or they’re just a functional device that could be used to support Chinese actions.”He also said China’s growing role in mining and processing critical minerals in Latin America poses a long-term risk to the US defence industrial base.The 12 space sites are concentrated in the southern cone of South America, Donovan said. He did not name the facilities or the countries where they are located.