Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-technology-caribbean-europe-333356e67f5e52e4506870d4b66f0f4d
US Senator Marco Rubio will co-chair a hearing Thursday with US officials to talk about China’s growing influence in Latin America. He worries, especially as the US focus is on Russia, that China will become a growing power in the future while Russia is dwindling. China is becoming a top trade partner, financing infrastructure, and aiding development in Latin American countries; all increasing their holdings and improving relations on America’s doorstep. Although the Trump administration urged governments in the south to resist the Chinese software, as it is vulnerable to hacking and security threats, that did not affect most of the governments in need of infrastructure that China is able to provide. Instead, he proposes that the United States campaigns for the adoption of Open RAN technology that is cheaper than China’s Huawei’s 5G technology, however, if China’s technology is already implemented, it becomes extremely difficult to take out.
Although Russia is most definitely a large threat to American security at the moment, I think it’s important and interesting to read politicians’ views on the issue of China. As has been discussed, Russia’s economy is on a downward trend due to the world’s reduced reliance on fossil fuels and due to the current Ukraine invasion the country has lost nearly all domestic and foreign support for their actions. Sanctions and lack of public support will dwindle Russia’s economy even more and reduce their international credibility and power. On a world stage, it is evident that Russia is, and should be, an area of large concern to the United States, however, it is also important that attention remains on China. Russia and China are the most powerful authoritarian states so both should be on the forefront of American minds.
The idea of Marco Rubio that Russia being “an acute problem and a present-day challenge, but only a five-year or 10-year problem while China is a 100-year problem,” poses an interesting question over the longevity of Russia’s power versus the longevity of China’s power. China’s technological advances and the dependence of almost all countries on their manufacturing and other sectors shows the holdings that China has on the international level. Whereas we have seen in recent weeks that other than high gas prices and reduced supply of oil, (which the US and the world as a whole is becoming less and less dependent on) we are able to function and find other ways to live comfortably without Russia. On another note, the geopolitical situation of Latin America to the United States plays into the importance of a reduced Chinese influence. Formerly called “Washington’s backyard,” in the Cold War, proximity to the US worries Rubio and other officials in the case of Chinese influence.