US nuclear aircraft carrier due in South Atlantic later this year

US nuclear aircraft carrier due in South Atlantic later this year

The USS George Washington will not be mooring at any Argentine port, it was also explained

The United States Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington is expected to be sailing Argentine Sea waters in May as part of her continental tour, which will include other countries. The last time such a US structure was in the area was in 2010.

 The move has been regarded in Buenos Aires as a gesture of rapprochement from US President Joseph Biden’s administration to fend off Chinese advances in the region.

Argentine President Javier Milei, who will maintain bilateral trade with China but will no longer regard the Asian giant as a strategic partner, and some of his aides would travel by helicopter to the USS George Washington, which will not moor in any port in Argentina due to inadequate infrastructure, according to Clarín.

In the meantime, Cabinet Chief Nicolás Posse has finished his US tour during which he met with high-ranking officials to boost bilateral ties.

Before the carrier’s arrival, US Southern Command Chief General Laura Richardson is expected to visit Buenos Aires in April, ahead of a planned trip by US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, as the first Hemispheric Defense Summit is to be held in the Argentine capital in November.

US Undersecretary of Defense Daniel Erikson is expected to be in Argentina during the week of February 26, Clarín said while warning the mission had not yet been confirmed.

Joint drills between the Coast Guards of both countries are also to resume after former Argentine Security Minister Sabrina Frederic stirred up the ties between the two forces in the early years of President Alberto Fernández’s term (2019-2023), which led to the suspension of exercises in the South Atlantic.

Also earmarking Argentina’s inclination to the US under Milei, Ambassador Marc Stanley said in a TV interview in Buenos Aires that Biden might be meeting with the Argentine head of state this year.

Argentina has also announced it would be purchasing second-hand US-built F-16 fighter jets, thus dropping China’s offer involving JF-17s.