The United States and Venezuela on Tuesday accused each other of triggering a possible arms race in South America through military deals seen as destabilising for the region.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington: "We have expressed concern about the number of Venezuelan arms purchases... Certainly (they) raise the question as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region."

But Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro shot back during a meeting with South American counterparts in Ecuador that an imminent US deal to use seven Colombian bases was the real cause for concern.

"How can the secretary of state say Venezuela is involved in an arms race when it is her country installing seven military bases?" Maduro asked.

Clinton's words "have no political or moral basis," he said.

The two issues dominated the meeting in Ecuador of the foreign and defence ministers of the 12 countries that make up the fledgling Union of South American Nations (Unasur).

Originally called to explore widespread concerns in South America over the US-Colombia deal, the meeting was expanded to discuss other major defence pacts, including Venezuela's arms purchases from Russia, and Brazil's big weapons buys from France.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a string of recent contracts with Moscow to buy 24 advanced fighter jets, 92 battle tanks and 300 surface-to-air missiles among other weapons acquisitions. The total value of the deals is more than six billion dollars.

A fierce US critic, Chavez has said the arms are not to threaten neighbouring countries but a response to threats he sees from the US "empire" wanting to invade his oil-rich nation.

Ecuador, the current Unasur chair, has called on South American states to be open with their neighbours about the aims of their arms build-ups, and exchange information to dispel concerns.

"The region does not want to find itself in an arms race," Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Fander Falconi said ahead of the meeting.

But he also reiterated concerns voiced by Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina that the US-Colombia deal would allow a US presence in the region that goes well beyond the stated mission of fighting Colombian drug traffickers and rebels.

Colombia, which has received nearly six billion dollars in mostly military aid from the United States since 1999, has so far rebuffed demands that it give its neighbours legally binding guarantees that US personnel and hardware will not operate outside Colombian territory.

Venezuela and Ecuador briefly put their military forces on near-war footing against Colombia in March 2008 after Bogota ordered a raid over the border into Ecuador to kill a rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) leader.

Bogota accuses Chavez of backing the Farc with money and weapons.

Brazil, which has also expressed scepticism over US aims in South America, could see its recent deals with France subjected to scrutiny under the broadened terms of Tuesday's Unasur meeting.

Brasilia has already agreed to spend $12-billion to buy five French submarines — one of which will be converted to nuclear power — and 50 military helicopters.

It has also opened contract negotiations to buy 36 modern French fighter jets for an addition four to seven billion dollars.

AFP

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