Base in Neuquen

It is unacceptable that the Government will keep in secret annexes of the agreement which
were awarded to China 200 hectares in Patagonia

The policy of fait accompli is the one that seems to govern the installation, in Neuquen, a space
station lunar exploration of China on a huge estate of 200 hectares awarded to Beijing for 50
years. The Foreign Relations Committee gave a favorable opinion Senate and questioned the
mysterious agreement between the Argentine government and the Chinese, which oddly enough
has annexes that are kept secret as hundreds of workers already employed in the construction of
the plant.

As reported by La Nacion, it is known that China will enjoy a tax exemption for 50 years, that its
laws and not the Argentine govern the activity of Chinese citizens who work there, that
Argentina will not disrupt normal activities carried out in the base and that our country can only
make use of the facilities ten percent of the working time of the season, equivalent to two hours
and forty minutes per day.

Kirchner majority in the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate allowed to approve the deal,
which must still be voted on in the enclosure, but the political opposition and among the officers
of the Armed Forces which has been most questioned is the existence of Annexes reserved
containing the fine print of the agreement signed by the National Commission on Space
Activities (CONAE) with the National Agency China Launch, Monitoring and General Satellite
Control (CLTC). The political decision was taken by Cristina Kirchner and his Chinese
counterpart, Xi Jinping. It has not been the only agreement since the presidents of the central
banks of both countries agreed to implement a currency swap to strengthen Argentina's reserves.

The biggest fear that the mysterious agreement arouses among his critics is the possibility that
the real purpose of the base China is not astronomy but war activities. Our armed forces were not
consulted by the national authorities, and the absence of this opinion is another concern.
Anyway, military sources claim that the antennas that will rise from the base of Bajada del Agrio
are also suitable for tracking missiles.

The works of the base have started before the parliamentary endorsement because it was
sufficient for the approval of Neuquen, under the provincial autarky, can sign agreements with
other countries to allow civil constructions. The fine print of the agreement with CONAE CLTC
and the covenant of neuquino government with China are in the reserved annexes that were not
made public in the Senate.

CONAE has rejected the possibility of military use of the facility and said Beijing will perform
"tasks deep space exploration." So did the Planning Minister Julio De Vido, calling the fear of
"absurd and unreasonable" because "China's space plan to reach the moon in 2020 has neither
could have military purposes". Meanwhile, the embassy Chinese in Buenos Aires said that the
base will support space exploration missions.

Still, doubts remain. The mere existence of secret annexes encouraged. and strategic prospecting
today does not remove the possibility of armed conflict in the not too distant future, with larger
satellites rather than aircraft carriers and space as a stage that moves the sea. The weapons will
be more lethal and missiles will play a decisive role.

Moreover, how can the Senate analyze an agreement if it has areas that escape the knowledge of
the people's representatives to be issued? In a word, how can reject or approve in Congress
something that is unknown and whose construction progresses?

Senator Ernesto Sanz (UCR) demanded "out of secrecy", while he said that legislators did not
receive the necessary information. For another radical senator, Juan Carlos Marino, "it is a
transfer of sovereignty from Argentine territory to China ". Meanwhile, deputies Patricia
Bullrich (Union for All) and Mario Negri, president of the radical bloc, submitted requests for
information to know the true nature of the agreement and the hidden text.

Another cause for concern and demand unrestricted access to the text of the agreement is that the
opposition in the Senate has information indicating that the director of the CLTC also be military
chief General Armament Department of the Chinese Army.

The lack of a clear and coherent foreign policy by the government aggravates the picture.
Improvisation, arrogance, opportunism and a long succession of serious errors have taken the
place of what should be a rational policy towards the world and have distanced us from our allies
classics.

The government so jealous of sovereignty as long as it is limited to the speeches, it seems to

neglect when signing an agreement lasting half a century, whose full text involving concealment
and with a strong power, it is not known why, a large portion of our land in a province that has
the rich oilfields of Vaca Muerta.
In turn, talks with Beijing to increase foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank fueling
suspicions about a possible consideration by the Argentina.

As can be seen, too many doubts and is inadmissible the secrecy surrounding an agreement with
a foreign power that commits us during the not inconsiderable period of 50 years. The
Government has been characterized by secrecy handling many issues that should be on the public
agenda and knowledge of the respective committees of Congress. It is a terrible procedure that
has become a despicable habit.