China Eyes Latin America In Ashes Of Monroe Doctrine

America Economia via WorldCrunch ^ | 2017-02-17 | Rodrígo Álvarez

[Olog-hai]

Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House will have real effects on the international system as a whole, and will inevitably impact the Latin American region. The key question is, will we continue alone under the U.S doctrine, or make a strategic adjustment? Chile’s Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz has declared that with Trump’s pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, Chile must look elsewhere — to China and South Korea.

Asking epochal questions is absolutely valid right now for all of Latin America and the Caribbean. In essence, since the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States has been the hegemonic power of the region, with Washington often qualifying it as its “back yard.” […]

There are no doubts about the importance of the United States’ regional presence, especially from the mid-20^th century until the arrival of President Barack Obama. In that time, Latin America and the Caribbean fell within a consistent U.S. foreign policy doctrine that established, until today, certain political, economic and military parameters.

But in 2009, the United States began a process of adjustment and withdrawal, which has prompted an important debate on its consequences. The Trump presidency will deepen the debate as it pushes U.S. foreign policy closer to an autarchic model. As proposed in the 2013 “The Future of U.S. Grand Strategy,” the central question will be how to manage the tension between alternate U.S. policies of “engagement” and “restraint.” …

[GraceG]

Half tempted to let china have their way will all the ingrates like Venezuela and Cuba...

[Olog-hai]

You do know what that entails, I hope. We do not need Red China on our doorstep militarily.

[GraceG]

Yes I know, that is why I said I was “Half-Tempted” If only we didn’t live so close the socialist yahoos in South America

[BestPresidentEver]

Good, than it’s their property that gets nationalized every couple of years. Before fracking made natural gas cheap people were calling Bolivia the future Saudi Arabia of natural gas and everyone wanted to invest there. They blocked American investments for political reasons and so we didn’t lose anything when they later nationalized everything. It was mostly Spanish, Argie and Brazilian companies that lost money.

So let the Chinese invest there. Then it will be their stuff that gets nationalized.

[Olog-hai]

Red China wants to do to Latin America what it did to Africa, and that’s make them into de facto colonies. I do not know why people think of them as if they were economic entrepreneurs when they are predators instead.

[Jack Hammer]

Watch for Red China to attempt to draw specious parallels between its involvement in South and Central America and our attempts to police illegal Chinese land grabs in the western Pacific.

[PIF]

China, via the PLA, runs the Panama Canal through its front Hutchison Whampoa Limited; runs the Port of LA; would love to add a warm water ports in Cuba and Venezuela - not to mention large military bases complete with state of the art area defense weapons.

Be careful what you wish for.

[Jumper]

These type of activity only make regional warfare more likely. I see Africa and the Panama Canal Zone becoming hostile to Chinese influence, a “great” wave washing away their island resorts, and a currency war defanging the Maoist’s. Proxy war is a bitch. Currency war is a bitch. War with the US is just plain stupid - and China doubled down on stupid early on with Trump. There will be reversals for China worldwide and they will retreat.