MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US concern over growing Chile-China links, revealed by Wikileaks

Ambassador Craig Kelly: “Chileans still a bit naïve about the company they will soon be keeping”

In 2005, with Chile negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with China, the United States became increasingly worried over China’s influence in the area, according to a confidential cable released last week by Wikileaks.

The cable explains the history and growing strength of the Chile-China alliance, and warns that Chile could “become a platform country in more ways than ever imagined” (echoing U.S. domino and backyards policies of the 1970s).

Trade relations brought heightened diplomatic connections between China and Chile. The cable reports the Chinese Embassy to have 22 permanent staff members, making it the largest mission China has in South America.

The cable’s author, former Ambassador Craig Kelly, noted the high levels of Spanish skills among the diplomats and their presence on the Santiago “social scene”.

Discussing potential intelligence threats, the cable notes the suspicious presence of three reporters from Xinhua, the Chinese state-run news agency, declaring their likely involvement in data “collection activity.”

Raising warning over how the improved ties could be used for the benefit of Beijing, Kelly points out how part of language training for the military involves a year in Beijing. Embassy sources apparently alerted the ambassador to China’s interest in Chile’s military ties with the U.S.

The possibility of Beijing using this new access to officers and Army training schools to obtain information about joint programs was raised as a distinct possibility in the cable.

“Chileans are sophisticated about their trade relationships, yet they are still a bit naïve about the company they will soon be keeping,” writes Kelly.

The ambassador also noted: “As bilateral ties between Chile and China have increased, appropriate personnel at the U.S. embassy in Santiago have worked with Chilean government officials to sensitize them to the security and intelligence threats emanating from China. Chile has long regarded itself as immune to the problems of counterintelligence.”

“However, selected government officials are beginning to understand that national assets are largely unprotected. They are aware of the potential damage that the role of China can begin to play in Chile.”

China was seeking its first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with a South American country at the time, as well as increased educational and tourism links. Chile was to be added to the “select” list of approved destinations for Chinese tourists.

State mining companies Codelco (Chile) and MinMetals (China) signed a multi-billion dollar agreement in 2005 guaranteeing sales for Chile and supply for China, whose economy is heavily reliant on copper.

These deals were a symbol of the increased interconnectivity between the two Pacific countries, with trade rising 249.1% between 2000 and 2004, making China at that time Chile’s the second largest trade partners after the US.

In 2011 China became the largest importer of Chilean goods, with Japan second and the U.S. third.

Concluding his cable, Kelly notes how Chilean political “shyness” would not result in China being pushed on issues such as labour or human right abuses. Kelly also suggested that the lack of an environmental chapter and separate labour chapter in the trade agreement between the two nations was being taken by some Chileans as evidence for Chile being regarded as a “commodity colony” and not a full and equal trading partner.

By Mark Briggs – Santiago Times