A new House Select Committee report identifies 11 Chinese space facilities across five Latin American nations with suspected dual-use military capabilities
Beijing Plants Its Eyes Across the Western Hemisphere
They are described as research facilities, lunar tracking stations, and instruments of scientific cooperation for the benefit of Latin American development. But a new analysis from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party tells a more troubling story, one in which at least 11 People’s Republic of China-linked ground stations, radio telescopes, and satellite ranging sites spread across Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, and Brazil may be quietly serving the military ambitions of the People’s Liberation Army. The report, obtained exclusively by Fox News and released publicly this week, calls on the Trump administration to halt any further expansion of Chinese space infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere and to work toward eliminating the capabilities that already exist there. That is a dramatic demand, but the committee’s reasoning is grounded in the documented reality of China’s military-civil fusion strategy, which legally and structurally integrates civilian scientific enterprises with PLA operational requirements.
The Argentina Station: A Case Study in Opacity
The most closely watched installation is a Chinese-operated deep space station in Argentina’s Neuquén province, established under a 50-year lease agreement signed in 2015. The facility, centered on a 35-meter antenna capable of satellite tracking and deep space communications, was presented to Argentine authorities and the public as a civilian research installation supporting Beijing’s lunar and planetary exploration programs. The House committee’s analysis raises pointed questions about that framing. The station is operated by an entity linked to China’s satellite launch and tracking network, a system that has explicit military applications. More troubling, the extent to which Argentine officials retain meaningful inspection rights over the facility appears limited, fueling debate about whether Argentina has effectively ceded a piece of its sovereign territory to a foreign military power without fully understanding the implications.
The Pentagon Speaks Carefully, the Committee Speaks Plainly
The Pentagon declined to comment on the specifics of the committee’s findings but acknowledged that it “continuously monitors developments that could affect the security environment, including space-related infrastructure and capabilities.” That is the language of an institution that knows what it is looking at but is not yet ready to say so publicly. The committee is under no such constraint. Its report states bluntly that Beijing “uses space infrastructure in Latin America to collect adversary intelligence and strengthen the PLA’s future warfighting capabilities.” The Department of Defense’s own 2025 annual report to Congress on China’s military power reached similar conclusions, assessing that China’s growing space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities have “dramatically increased its ability to monitor, track, and target US and allied forces both terrestrially and on orbit.”
The Wolf Amendment and the Legal Framework
The report urges federal agencies, including NASA, to review any cooperative agreements with countries hosting Chinese-operated space facilities to ensure compliance with the Wolf Amendment, a federal statute that restricts bilateral space cooperation with China and Chinese-owned entities. Lawmakers argue that even multilateral arrangements could warrant scrutiny if they indirectly benefit Chinese-linked infrastructure. The Wolf Amendment’s legislative history makes clear that Congress viewed unrestricted space cooperation with China as a national security risk even when the immediate applications appeared civilian. That concern looks more prescient today than it did when the law was first enacted.
Chile Pauses, Showing Pressure Can Work
There is at least one piece of encouraging news in the committee’s report. A proposed expansion of a Chinese space-related project in Chile was put on hold following diplomatic engagement by the Trump administration. Lawmakers view the pause as evidence that sustained diplomatic pressure on host governments can influence their calculations about the costs and benefits of Chinese space cooperation. Latin American nations are not natural adversaries of the United States. Many of them would welcome an alternative to Chinese investment and technology that did not come attached to sovereignty-compromising conditions and opaque operational agreements. The challenge for Washington is to offer that alternative before Beijing’s infrastructure becomes too embedded to dislodge.
Mei Ling Chan
Education & Social Policy Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: meiling.chan@appledaily.uk
Mei Ling Chan is an education and social policy journalist specializing in school systems, youth development, and public policy impacts on families. She trained at a top-tier Chinese journalism institution, where she focused on policy reporting, data interpretation, and media ethics, building a strong analytical foundation.
Her professional experience includes reporting for Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese publications, producing coverage on education reform, student movements, social welfare programs, and inequality in access to public services. Mei Ling’s reporting combines document analysis with interviews involving educators, students, and policy experts.
She has worked in fast-paced newsroom environments while maintaining high standards for accuracy and context. Her stories are known for precise attribution, careful interpretation of policy language, and avoidance of speculation.
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