Argentina revives naval base plans
Your browser does not support the audio element.
In the southern tip of the Americas, the dormant site of the proposed Ushuaia naval base lies along the Beagle Channel. Earlier this month, President Javier Milei of Argentina gave priority in the 2027 budget to the development of the base. Milei envisions it as a military and logistical hub in the South Atlantic. In a speech, Milei also took a tougher stance on Argentina's sovereignty claim over the British-held Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas. The Falklands are located about 560km northeast of Ushuaia.
The foundation stone for the Ushuaia base was laid in 2022 by Argentina's previous centre-left government, but work has since stalled. As of last year, only around nine percent of the project had been completed, according to a government report submitted to lawmakers. Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, initially proposed the base as a joint military base with the United States in 2024.
However, aides later clarified that any base would be 100% Argentine, with no material collaboration from the US. Presidential spokesman Adrian Ravier confirmed on Tuesday that there is no US involvement in building the base. Currently, there is no active construction, only a 2,500sq m concrete slab on a 38ha vacant lot near the Ushuaia airport. Milei has not provided a timeline for the base's completion.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
