By Alicia Gutiérrez | 2025-03-12

SANTIAGO -- China's initiative to build a space observation complex in Chile's Atacama Desert may be more aligned with a broader military strategy than with its stated scientific purpose.

This concern became evident in a report by the British independent intelligence agency Grey Dynamics, published on January 1, and in an article in Newsweek magazine in December.

Both sources warn about the risks of China's expanding presence in strategic global locations as part of its military agenda.

Meanwhile, analysts and academics caution that the project could have significant implications for Chile's security, diplomacy and sovereignty.

The Ventarrones Astronomical Park is a 25-square-km complex strategically situated in the Atacama Desert, about 90km from Antofagasta, near the Paranal and Armazones hills, at an altitude of 2,800 meters above sea level.

'Long and hard' negotiations

Officials conceived the project in November 2016 during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Chile.

It is expected to open in 2026.

Reaching an agreement required eight years of "long and hard" and even "somewhat strange" talks, according to Christian Moni Bidin, director of the Ventarrones Astronomical Park of the Catholic University of the North (UCN), as quoted by Newsweek.

He attributed the delay mainly to the restrictions China sought to impose on the land.

"It's reasonable that the Chinese said, 'OK, I built it. It's mine; I decide.' But to the government I cannot say, 'This is Chinese space, and I cannot get in,'" Bidin said.

In January 2023, officials finally signed the collaboration agreement between UCN and China's National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China has spent an estimated $80 million on the site's construction and equipment, which will include about 100 telescopes.

The builder is China Construction Engineering Corporation Chile SpA, a subsidiary of China State Engineering Construction -- an entity active in military construction, as Newsweek noted.

Military strategy, not science

Although Santiago and Beijing agreed upon the project almost nine years ago and it holds significance for Chile the global astronomy hub, details are elusive.

The website of the Chinese NAOC contains only a single relevant article from 2016, which describes Xi's visit to Santiago and the signing of a memorandum of understanding for an "observation base."

The secrecy surrounding the project raises serious concerns, said Jorge Sanz, an international analyst and academic at the Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago.

"Although this project began under Michelle Bachelet's government... It seems that, from that point forward, little attention was paid to its implications. The lack of public discussion in Chile is worrisome," Sanz stated.

In an interview with Entorno, he described the initiative as "a security, scientific, military, political, diplomatic and, most important, a sovereignty issue for Chile."

This observatory should not be viewed in isolation but rather as part of China's broader global strategy, said Sanz, a scholar of military sciences.

He linked it to the long-term geopolitical vision of the Chinese Communist Party, which aims for global dominance by 2049 -- the centenary of its victory in the Chinese civil war.

"We must connect this to China's strategic plan to become the world's leading space power by 2049. Establishing a presence here makes Chile part of that strategy -- whether we want to be or not," he cautioned.

Militarization of space

He underscored the need for a critical and comprehensive assessment of the project, which, like many others, falls under China's Belt and Road Initiative. Chile, a key cultural and commercial partner for Beijing in South America, plays an increasingly strategic role in this expansion.

"This is not merely a case of scientific cooperation," Sanz warned. "Given China's broader geopolitical and economic moves in Latin America, it will undoubtedly have military applications."

He pointed to Beijing's growing interest in the militarization of space, citing China's 2015 defense white paper, which explicitly calls space a military domain.

"This is part of China's military agenda. All these facilities, including the observatories, are linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The same pattern applies to China's control over ports. It carries a hidden military connotation under the guise of economic and scientific cooperation," Sanz concluded.

A similar assessment comes in Newsweek from Liza Tobin, former China director at the US National Security Council.

"What we're seeing in Chile is textbook Chinese strategy. Establish seemingly benign scientific facilities that can serve multiple strategic purposes. These observatories don't just track stars -- they can monitor satellites, gather intelligence and support military space operations," she said.

Beijing deliberately conceals the military functions of these facilities under the guise of international scientific cooperation, said Tobin, now a senior director for the Special Competitive Studies Project.

Even China's research partners are often unaware of the true scope of these activities, she added.

Building a global surveillance network

"The observatory will mark the fifth overseas node in China's global sky-facing surveillance network, designed to 'fully scan' the entire Southern and Northern Hemisphere heavens every half hour, aligning with China's 'national strategic needs,'" according to Grey Dynamics.

"This observatory represents one of China's most recent efforts to establish itself as a space superpower," Grey Dynamics said in its report.

In this regard, the future operations of the Ventarrones astronomical complex could jeopardize not only Chile's security but that of the entire region, said Sanz.

The terms China sought for the construction of this observatory in Chile mirror those of the Far Space Station built across the border in Neuquen province, Patagonia, Argentina.

This facility in Argentina has sparked debate over the lack of transparency in its awarding process and its secretive operations.

"If I tell people that what happened in Neuquen is going to happen here -- where there's a Chinese space that no one can enter -- people will say, 'That happens in Argentina, but it won't happen in Chile,'" Sanz explained.

The Newsweek investigation highlights the restrictions China has imposed and fuels growing concerns about the project's true objectives on Chilean soil.

"In most space co-operations in Chile that are built and paid for by overseas observatories or governments, the local partner gets 10 percent of observation time. But the (Chilean) university said it would only get two nights a month at Ventarrones," according to Newsweek.

The Chileans might reap even fewer nights of access if Chinese scientists are involved in "important NAOC scientific projects."

The Chinese will own all the buildings, infrastructure, telescopes, sensors, the main access road leading to the site and all the data collected, intelligence sources told Newsweek.