'China threat' rhetoric shows some minds still dwell on Monroeism

Although the focus of the South America Defense Conference 2025, held in Buenos Aires from Aug 20 to 21, or SOUTHDEC 25, was on enhanced maritime domain awareness and military support to counter transnational criminal organizations, some China hawks were apparently intent on diverting the discussions toward their topics.

China "continues its methodical incursion in the region... extract precious resources, and set the theater with potential dual use infrastructure, from ports to space", said Alvin Holsey, commander of US Southern Command, at the SOUTHDEC 25.

The US Navy admiral baselessly warned that China's presence and influence "have far-reaching consequences across all domains, particularly in the Southern Cone where vital sea lines of communication, such as the Strait of Magellan and Drake Passage, serve as strategic choke points and may be used by China to project power, disrupt trade, and challenge the various sovereignty of our nations, or neutrality of the Antarctic".

Although the defense officials from South American countries attending the conference showed little interest, senior US officials seemed hell-bent on hijacking the meeting with their agenda.

"China controls military intelligence and space facilities throughout this hemisphere and threatens critical maritime access points such as the Panama Canal, which is vital to each nation's economy," said Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Roosevelt Ditlevson, making it seem like the US is a defender of international waterways rather than the party that is threatening them, most recently with its proposition to take control of the Panama Canal by force.

These remarks once again reveal the Cold War-era mindset of some in the US.

Over the years, China has carried out practical cooperation in various fields with Latin American and Caribbean countries in the spirit of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation.

Regional countries see clearly that such cooperation meets the needs and serves the common interests of both sides. Their cooperation with China has given a strong boost to local economic and social development and has brought tangible benefits to the people.

China is now Latin America's second-largest trading partner, and the region has become the second-largest destination for overseas Chinese investment. Currently, China has five free trade partners in the region.

China-LAC cooperation is also expanding into new sectors, such as renewable energy, digital technology, and transnational e-commerce, with dynamics driven by successful bilateral forums on science and technology innovation, digital technology cooperation and space cooperation. China's cloud computing, big data and AI technologies have widely empowered local industries to facilitate digital transformation.

China-LAC collaboration does not target any third party. The two sides have broad consensus and common interests to stay united and jointly respond to the challenges posed by rising protectionism, unilateralism and hegemony.

The US, by contrast, has tried every means to interfere in and exert control over the region for years. The hegemonic and bullying nature of its behavior is there for all to see, as Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Monday when asked about the US defense officials' irresponsible remarks at the SOUTHDEC 25.

If the US really cared about the region's security and development, it would not have shied away from increasing its input in the region's development, nor would it have built high walls on its border against its southern neighbors, while rolling out coercive trade policies against them.

The senior US defense officials' "China threat" agenda at the security conference in the capital of Argentina is nothing but a continuation of the Monroe Doctrine. They insist that Latin America remain a "backyard" of the US and no other country interact with them even if that is good for the region's prosperity.

What the Monroeists fear most is that the Latin American countries will develop a greater sense of autonomy and self-confidence, rooting out Monroeism.