Thread by @ijrepjournalism

1. A thread analysis of #Argentina-#China relations through our previous reports, reports from our on-ground reporters, and SM influencers.

Argentina already has a base operated by the #Chinese military in the province of #Neuquén.

2. Now plans to add a port for #Beijing in the #RíoGrande, on the continent's southern tip.

The location of Rio Grande is of extreme strategic importance and crucial for the world in general.

3. Since 2018, #Chinese fishing vessels have spent 1 million hours fishing between #Argentina’s maritime border and the high seas, yet spent 600,000 hours ‘in the #dark,’ suspected of illegal fishing within #Argentine waters in the South Atlantic.
Report: ij-reportika.com/the-illegal-ch…

4. It all started in 2010 when #CristinaKirchner signed an agreement to install a port operated by #China in #TierradelFuego.

It was the same year that an agreement was reached with the #Chinese state agency CLTC to install a quasimilitary base in #Neuquén.

5. The port project dates from July 2008 and was valued at US$ 1,000 million.

It included a #petrochemical pole to produce urea and methanol using the gas provided by a provincial gas company called #TerraIgnis through a gas pipeline built by the province

6. A power plant was also promised that would generate 50 MW of energy from plants fed with the gas that it would receive at a promotional price through the gas pipeline that the province was going to build and that would bear the very patriotic name of "San Martín".

7. To facilitate the business, Provincial Law 829 and Decree 2,374 of October 4 were signed to avoid bidding processes to directly award work.

Such partials and corrupt ways of the assignment of contracts were also seen in other #BRI countries.

Check: ij-reportika.com/the-bri-a-gran…

8. The deal was perfect for the #Chinese just like in other BRI countries like #DRC, #Kenya, #Ethopia, #SriLanka, #Nepal and #Pakistan.

They would lay a gas pipeline for the province at a cheap rate of US$1.80 per million BTU for 25 years when the market was paying US$5!!

9. The controlling company was registered in #Argentina, which makes it easier for it to access some of the industrial promotion programs that are destined for #TierradelFuego and that in 2022 implied an expense of 0.36% of GDP, equivalent to some 290,300 million pesos.

10. Despite a distance of 19,000km from the West of South America and 22,000km from the East of #SouthAmerica, #China’s increasing presence near #Galapagos Islands and South America is suspicious.

We will explain how!!

11. A lot of publications have covered the menace of the #Chinese DWF around the #Galapagos.

Ij-Reportika while researching for its exclusive report found the presence of Chinese DWF around the entire South America prominently in #Brazil, #Argentina, #Chile, and #Peru.

12. We will now explain the reason for the sudden revival of the #Chinese port in Argentina.

It is not a minor matter considering China's plan to increase presence in Antarctica, profit from #LatinAmerican fishing, and anchor itself in a strategic area!

ij-reportika.com/the-illegal-ch…

13. Until today, the ships that operate on the #SouthAmerican coast do not have comfortable bases where they can stop, maintain, and repair.

A Chinese port on the #RioGrande is the solution to expanding southern fishing.

14. #China will be able to lower the current cost of logistics ships sent from ports thousands of kilometers away and will increase its catch volume to outcompete #Spanish, #Korean and #Taiwanese vessels that also fish for hake and squid in the area.

15. At the diplomatic level, it can be a headache for countries like #Ecuador, #Peru, #Chile, and Uruguay that often complain about the predatory effect of #Chinese fishing fleets on their fishery resources.

#Argentina will now be a partner in that fishing and in the claims.

16. It also introduces a new factor of tension with #GreatBritain that will condition the negotiations for the #Malvinas.
The port is ideal position for #China to increase pressure on fishing grounds that surround the islands and to collapse the value of the licenses they grant.

17. Government that occupies #Malvinas has an annual budget of 95.8 million pounds.

It depends a lot on the 55 million he receives for fishing permits.

Before local nationalism celebrates, it is important to know that #Argentina will also be affected by its fishing interests.

18. #Fishing outside EEZ and incursions within the #Argentine territorial sea cause annual losses of US$ 2,600 million.

With its own modern port in #RioGrande, the #Chinese fleet will increase its catches.

DWF politics: ij-reportika.com/impacts-of-chi…

19. The commercialization value of the product of illegal fishing in the #Argentine sea is US$ 14,000 million and represents 30,000 jobs in all areas.

#Peru has already seen such a situation unfolding!

20. With this port, #China manages to take a crucial step in its plans to strengthen its presence in #Antarctica,
which has its main base in the same territory claimed by #Argentina, #Britain and #Chile, because if we are going to complicate it with the neighbors, we do it well!

21. To this day, #China has to travel tens of thousands of kilometers to reach its bases in #Antarctica.

Among the 95 terminals that it operates in the world, the closest is Paranaguá in #Brazil and the least distant military port is in #Djibouti, in the #PersianGulf.

This #port will solve a lot of problems for #China and it would be able to achieve lots of its ambitious goals on the cost of security and finance of the Latin #American or #SouthAmerican nations.