Arms race looms as South American officials meet

South American nations, worried that recent military deals with the United States, Russia and France are destabilizing their region, held a meeting in Ecuador's capital on Tuesday urging greater transparency.

The closed-door gathering of the foreign and defense ministers of the fledgling Union of South American Nations (Unasur) was called over fears sparked by an agreement allowing the US military access to Colombian bases.

But at Colombia's insistence it has also been broadened to include discussion of Venezuela's arms purchases from Russia, and Brazil's decision to buy French submarines and aircraft.

The United States, which was not represented at the meeting, has said it is worried a Latin American arms race might have started.

It blamed Venezuela's anti-US president, Hugo Chavez, saying his six billion dollars' worth of orders for Russian fighter jets, tanks and anti-aircraft missiles "poses a serious challenge to stability in the Western Hemisphere."

Chavez has said his recent buys were in reaction to the US-Colombia bases deal, which he fears could set the scene for a US-led invasion of his oil-rich country.

He and his allies, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, say it is the United States that is destabilizing the region with the deal.

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

There needs to be "transparency in defense spending," Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Fander Falconi told Radio Quito just before the meeting began.

"The region does not want to find itself in an arms race," he said.

He reiterated his country's worries over the US-Colombian pact, saying: "This meeting comes from a regional preoccupation... with the military accord between the United States and Colombia.

The bases deal, which is expected to be implemented soon, permits US military access to seven Colombian bases.

Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina have all expressed concerns that it will 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 legally binding guarantees to its neighbors that the US personnel and hardware will operate only on its territory.

Venezuela and Ecuador briefly escalated their military forces to a 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 skepticism over the aims of the US-Colombia pact, could have its recent deals with France put under scrutiny under the broadened terms of Tuesday's Unasur meeting.

Brasilia has already agreed to spend 12 billion dollars 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.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told reporters as he headed into the meeting in Quito that he hoped mechanisms would be agreed "to increase trust between Unasur countries."