ANI
03 Jun 2021, 15:25 GMT+10
Caracas [Venezuela], June 3 (ANI): Although the Venezuelan Navy has not been a top concern for the US Department of Defense, reports have emerged that China is supplying Venezuela with some rather powerful weapons that could shift the balance of power in the region.
In September 2020, the Venezuelan government under President Nicolas Maduro released some propaganda videos that suggest that its warships have been armed with new Chinese-made anti-ship missiles that can target enemy vessels from over 100 nautical miles away, writes Peter Suciu for The National Interest.
Maduro said that his country is planning to manufacture its own weapons and announced the establishment of a special military and scientific system for that purpose. This comes as his regime has been prevented by international sanctions from buying Western-made arms.
Therefore, Venezuela has turned to the usual suspects of China, Russia and Iran in a bid to modernise its armed forces, as Beijing has been among the largest purchasers of the country's crude oil.
In recent times, Venezuela has undertaken efforts to establish its own domestic arms industry.
The propaganda videos, shared on Maduro's official Twitter account, did not actually feature any Venezuelan warships, rather the footage was from the Thai Navy frigate HTMS Karaburi. The best guess is that Beijing may have supplied the missiles to Caracas, but the platform wasn't likely installed in time for the commemoration event in September 2020, during which the acquisition was announcedIt has also been speculated that the Chinese missiles could eventually be installed on the Venezuelan Navy's Guaiqueri-class patrol boats, which were built in Spain but delivered without anti-ship missiles, according to The National Interest.
The reports have led to questions on how Caracas will actually pay for the missiles purchased from China, given the country's ongoing economic problems.
However, Suciu writes that as long as Beijing needs oil, something which Venezuela has in abundance, it is likely military hardware such as the C-802A missiles will continue to flow to the South American country, posing a potential threat to the United States. (ANI)Get a daily dose of China National News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to China National News.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: The expansion of U.S. natural gas infrastructure in 2024 significantly boosted the country's ability to transport...
BERLIN, Germany: Audi has announced plans to cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029 as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reducing...
SEATTLE/WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rose Wednesday despite the U.S. Federal Reserve signalling a potential slowdown in the U.S. economy,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump has reversed a Biden-era executive order requiring businesses with federal contracts to pay...
FRANKFURT, Germany: UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti will receive a pay package of just over 15 million Swiss francs (US$17 million) for 2024,...
SEATTLE/WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is...
(250320) -- XIAMEN, March 20, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Chinese premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau...
(250320) -- KUNMING, March 20, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China...
This schematic diagram shows the quantum key distribution experiment of the Jinan-1 micro-nano satellite. (University of Science and...
(250320) -- TAINAN, March 20, 2025 (Xinhua) -- People attend a solemn ceremony to honor the revered ancient Chinese educator and philosopher...
(250320) -- HEFEI, March 20, 2025 (Xinhua) -- This image transmitted through quantum-secured communication between China and South...