Ecuador: Manta air base control to China?

The Ecuadorian government offered the U.S. air base in Manta, Ecuador to China once the contract with the U.S. military is done in 2009. According to a communiqué on the Ecuadorian presidential website last month, the government hopes that China accepts its offer as part of a “doorway” for the Asian country into Latin America:

It is not only Ecuador, which will benefit from the Chinese entry into Latin America. Brazil will likewise profit since Ecuador and Brazil inked an agreement building the Manta-Manaus link by rail. Aside from Terminales, other Chinese firms are interested in investing in the rail project. Ecuador also wants to connect highways with neighbors Colombia, Peru and Brazil.

The Manta base has been used by the U.S. Air Force's Southern Command for military operations, particularly counternarcotics missions. As part of renegotiating the contract with the U.S., Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa offered to extend the usage rights in Manta past 2009 in exchange for permission to build an Ecuadorian military base in Miami.

Sources- AHN, Reuters, Upside Down World, Business news Americas, The Latin Americanist

Image- Washington Post