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US, Venezuela blame each other for S. America 'arms race'
Quito (AFP) Sept 15, 2009 The United States and Venezuela on Tuesday accused each other of triggering a possible arms race in South America through military deals seen as destabilizing for the region. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington: "We have expressed concern about the number of Venezuelan arms purchases... Certainly (they) raise the question as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region." But Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro shot back during a meeting with South American counterparts in Ecuador that an imminent US deal to use seven Colombian bases was the real cause for concern. "How can the secretary of state say Venezuela is involved in an arms race when it is her country installing seven military bases?" Maduro asked. Clinton's words "have no political or moral basis," he said. The two issues dominated the meeting in Ecuador of the foreign and defense ministers of the 12 countries that make up the fledgling Union of South American Nations (Unasur). Originally called to explore widespread concerns in South America over the US-Colombia deal, the meeting was expanded to discuss other major defense pacts, including Venezuela's arms purchases from Russia, and Brazil's big weapons buys from France. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a string of recent contracts with Moscow to buy 24 advanced fighter jets, 92 battle tanks and 300 surface-to-air missiles among other weapons acquisitions. The total value of the deals is more than six billion dollars. A fierce US critic, Chavez has said the arms are not to threaten neighboring countries but a response to threats he sees from the US "empire" wanting to invade his oil-rich nation. Ecuador, the current Unasur chair, has called on South American states to be open with their neighbors about the aims of their arms build-ups, and exchange information to dispel concerns. "The region does not want to find itself in an arms race," Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Fander Falconi said ahead of the meeting. But he also reiterated concerns voiced by Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina that the US-Colombia deal would allow a US presence in the region that goes well beyond the stated mission of fighting Colombian drug traffickers and rebels. Colombia, which has received nearly six billion dollars in mostly military aid from the United States since 1999, has so far rebuffed demands that it give its neighbors legally binding guarantees that US personnel and hardware will not operate outside Colombian territory. Venezuela and Ecuador briefly put their military forces on near-war footing against Colombia in March 2008 after Bogota ordered a raid over the border into Ecuador to kill a rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader. Bogota accuses Chavez of backing the FARC with money and weapons. Brazil, which has also expressed skepticism over US aims in South America, could see its recent deals with France subjected to scrutiny under the broadened terms of Tuesday's Unasur meeting. Brasilia has already agreed to spend 12 billion dollars to buy five French submarines -- one of which will be converted to nuclear power -- and 50 military helicopters. It has also opened contract negotiations to buy 36 modern French fighter jets for an addition four to seven billion dollars.
related report "We have expressed concern about the number of Venezuelan arms purchases," Clinton told reporters during a joint press conference with Vazquez. Venezuela's arms purchases "outpace all other countries in South America, and certainly raise the question as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region," the chief US diplomat said. "So we urge Venezuela to be transparent in its purchases, clear about its purposes," Clinton said. She urged Caracas to set up a system "to ensure that the weapons they buy are not diverted" to insurgent groups or criminal cartels such as drug gangs. The United States is especially worried about Venezuela's new deal with Russia to buy battle tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, and vehicle-mounted surface-to-air missile systems targeting incoming missiles. The fledgling Union of South American Nations (Unasur), which includes Uruguay, held a meeting in Ecuador Tuesday that was called over fears sparked by an agreement allowing the US military access to Colombian bases. At Colombia's insistence, the meeting has also been broadened to include discussion of Venezuela's arms purchases from Russia, and Brazil's decision to buy French submarines and aircraft. Vazquez expressed broad concerns without singling out any particular deal. "With respect to the arms race, not only is our country worried, but we have already expressed time and again our position against an arms race," Vazquez told reporters. He said Uruguay opposes an arms race because it diverts resources in a region with a poor distribution of wealth -- resources that could be better spent on health, education and housing. "But it's a fact, and we can't deny it, that the countries are buying weapons," he said. "South America has millions of people living in poverty, and there are thousands of children that die across Latin America and South America because of child diarrhea or diseases that could be prevented," he said. "We should devote our energies and resources to fight against the real scourges of our societies... such as drug trafficking and terrorism," he said. In Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce US critic, said Sunday that his country had obtained a 2.2-billion-dollar credit from Russia for arms purchases. Chavez said Venezuela is buying 92 Soviet-era T-72 main battle tanks, 300-millimeter Smerch multiple-launch rocket systems, and vehicle-mounted Russian Antey 2500 surface-to-air missile systems targeting incoming missiles. Chavez has long expressed a desire to improve his nation's military with Moscow's help, and the substantial deal comes amid rising tensions between Caracas and Bogota over Colombia's decision to allow the United States access to several military bases on its territory. The firebrand leftist has repeatedly criticized the United States, but has insisted the latest purchase was not directed against any other country. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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