By: Staff Writer
June 27, 2025
A new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says that the People’s Republic of China’s interest in Latin American and Caribbean ports is more widespread and the risk more varied than previously known.
The research conducted by the CSIS revealed that Chinese companies have built or operate 31 active ports in Latin America and the Caribbean, many more than previously thought.
The report also said that the port at Kingston Jamaica is the “riskiest port,” and it is Ialso the highest-ranking port operated by a Chinese SOE, granting Beijing a higher degree of control over its operations compared to privately managed facilities.
It is more than just the Panama Canal that America has to be concerned about, but there are port facilities stretching from The Bahamas to the South of Argentina.
US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, said in his speech at the Central American Security Conference in Panama on April 9 that: “The era of capitulating to coercion by the Communist Chinese is over.
“Their growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot and will not stand. To accomplish this, our countries cannot face these shared threats alone. We have to face them together. America will confront, will deter and, if necessary, defeat these threats alongside all of you, our close and valued partners. Our mission is simple: achieve peace through strength through an America first approach. We’re doing this by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military and reestablishing deterrence. And we’re doing all of this right here in Central and South America.”
The CSIS research also said: “Much of the alarm around China’s growing influence over global port infrastructure has focused on the Chinese navy’s push to establish overseas naval bases. In places like Djibouti and Cambodia, China first poured billions of dollars into civilian infrastructure projects before establishing military facilities—a playbook it could seek to emulate elsewhere.
“Yet, the risk is far more nuanced with LAC ports. In the near term, Beijing is unlikely to overtly establish naval facilities so close to the continental United States, given the risk of blowback from Washington.”
The research added: “Still, gaining influence over strategic ports could provide China with critical advantages short of a formal military presence. Control or deep involvement in port operations can enable intelligence collection on U.S. and allied naval movements, privileged access to maritime logistics data, and the ability to deny or delay access during a crisis.
“Foreign-controlled port infrastructure could serve as a platform to enable similar attacks. China has already developed a shipping container–based cruise missile launch system that could enable it to conceal strike capabilities within ordinary commercial cargo. Influence at ports could help ensure systems like these arrive where they need to be and evade inspection until they are ready to use.”