South American defence council to stem U.S. influence
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COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil: South American leaders agreed on Tuesday to create a regional defence council aimed at preventing local conflicts and reducing dependence on U.S. weaponry.
The decision was taken at a summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in northeastern Brazil which was attended for the first time by Communist-run Cuba.
The presence of Cuban President Raul Castro was touted as a sign of Latin America's growing independence from the United States, a far cry from the Cold War era when Cuba was expelled from the Washington-based Organisation of American States.
Brazil proposed the creation of the South American defence council earlier this year, after the Colombian bombardment of a Marxist guerrilla camp in Ecuador led the Andean region to the brink of an armed conflict.
"The proposal was approved unanimously by the presidents," Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told a news conference after a meeting of South American leaders on the sidelines of the Latin American summit near the city of Salvador.
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"There are problems the region can solve itself," she said, adding that the council would meet for the first time in January.
Brazil is the largest arms manufacturer in South America and could gain ground against U.S. manufacturers if the region's governments came together on defence issues.
"The idea is cooperation for the basis of a (common) defence industry," Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told reporters.
Several countries in the region say the United States is not a reliable arms supplier because of strict technology transfer restrictions. Washington has occasionally vetoed the delivery of arms to governments in the region.
Brazil is to announce a new strategic defence plan on Thursday that is expected to shift its focus to security threats along a porous Amazon border and to new-found, off-shore oil reserves.
It will also create tax breaks to stimulate domestic arms firms, including missile and gun manufacturers.
(Reporting by Raymond Colitt, editing by Anthony Boadle)
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