Aircraft carrier sent to Argentina again after 13 years

From Joe Biden to Javier Miley In a strong diplomatic and military signal, the United States’ nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, will arrive in Argentina next May.

It clearly comes in a continental tourIn which other countries will also be included. But here comes the United States aircraft carrier since 2010, causing a short circuit with the government of Christina Kirchner. was here The USS Ronald Reagan and the last one was the USS Carl Vinson.

USS George Washington is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the nation’s first president.

And at the end of the year, after six years of repairs – longer than expected – it once again became the lead ship of the US Seventh Fleet, based in Japan. It is the only US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Replaced the USS Ronald Reagan, which was based in Yokosuka, Japan.

This creates tension with China, which does not like the presence of its rival in the region it dominates. By the way, the United States’ move to the South Atlantic is also a move against the Asian power, whose presence in Latin America has grown strongly.

Its arrival in the South Atlantic is also one of Strong signals from Xavier Miley towards his first colleague In the international arena. Information, The anticipated was confirmed on the Radar International site. this friday bugle By high official sources. He said that if the operation was not included in the existing treatment in Congress of the customary law of entry and exit of troops from national territory, it would be welcomed by the Argentine Government in the open sea. Then, President Miley and several of his ministers will travel by helicopter to the USS George Washington, which will not dock at any Argentine port, where there is certainly no infrastructure to dock.

It was concluded that, in addition to Meilley, Minister Louis Petrie (Defence); Patricia Bullrich (Security), Diana Mondino (Foreign Relations); the President’s sister and General Secretary of the Presidency, Karina Milli; as well as the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brigadier General Xavier Isaac and the Chief of Naval Staff, Carlos Alivi.

While Chief of Staff Nicholas Posey has just finished a visit to Washington, where he interviewed with top officials of Joe Biden’s administration, State Department Deputy Secretary Brian Nichols will arrive in Buenos Aires on Monday. It cannot be ruled out that this could lead to a visit by Antony Blinken, the head of diplomacy of the United States government himself.

The support of the United States undoubtedly allowed the International Monetary Fund to make distributions this week US$4.7 billion That they were waiting to be able to repay the loan.

For its part, although Miley will maintain bilateral trade relations with China, it has already announced that it will no longer be a “strategic partner”. For starters, it will not enter BRICS and will buy a fleet of F16 supersonic aircraft not from China but from the United States.

as he knew bugle According to military sources, relations are “going from strength to strength” and a visit by General Laura Richardson, commander of the United States Fourth Fleet, is expected in April. It is a journey that will reveal other facts: Visit of United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austinwho is preparing Hemisphere’s first defense summit to be held in Buenos Aires

And it has a date of November. Miley and Biden will also meet in Rio de Janeiro during the G20 summit, also in November.

In turn, although it has not yet been officially announced, Deputy Secretary of Defense Daniel Erickson is expected to arrive in the country the week of February 26, who will meet with his Argentinian counterpart Luis Petri, among other officials.

This newspaper also knows that the USCGC Stone, a United States Coast Guard patrol ship, will conduct exercises with the prefecture in April. This minister belongs to the class of Bullrich, whose predecessor Aníbal Fernández had already abandoned security cooperation agreements with states that had paved the way for these exercises and others. At that time, Sabrina Frederick, the first Minister of Security of Alberto Fernández, caused such a stir on the issue of sovereignty against the United States that it led to the suspension of the exercises with this symbolic patrol ship in the South Atlantic, which patrols the Caribbean and maritime Travels in areas. the Atlantic. South.

The United States Ambassador here, Mark Stanley, also said on television that President Biden, who is entering the end of his term and is running for re-election, may meet Miley this year. The diplomat recently resumed his duties after the year-end recess and this Friday he tweeted that he was in Bahía Blanca.

“I am pleased to announce that we have donated $50,000 to a humanitarian aid project to rebuild Primary Schools 36 and 45 in Bahía Blanca. I hope this small contribution will help bring some normalcy back to the children who rely on these institutions to ensure their future,” he said, referring to those affected by the year-end typhoon in the city. Which devastated many places and killed 13 people. After this Stanley toured the entire city.

Specialized defense sites reported in November that the USS George Washington departed that month after a six-year refit. This refueling process was longer than expected.

With its refit, the USS George Washington can carry Boeing MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aircraft, which refuel fighters flying up to 800 kilometers from the aircraft carrier. This is considered “a capability that would make the ship more suitable to operate in the hypothetical scenario of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.”

Built by Newport News Shipbuilding and commissioned on 4 July 1992, in May 2008, while leaving the port of Norfolk (Virginia) for her station in Japan, a fire broke out on board the ship near South America, causing $70 million in damage. . ,

It was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that the United States deployed to Japan from 2008 to 2015.

This huge ship, or rather its crew members, was the subject of investigation when the media in the United States revealed that the quality of life for sailors in the shipyard was not good. For example, they reported that there were at least nine suicides of sailors on board ships between 2017 and April 2022. Power cuts, lack of hot water and unbearable temperatures were observed.