The United States has issued a warning that Peru risks eroding its sovereignty after a court ruling limited state oversight of a Chinese-controlled megaport, prompting a sharp rebuke from Beijing and intensifying geopolitical tensions over a strategic hub on South America’s Pacific coast.
The dispute centres on the Port of Chancay, a US$1.3 billion deep water facility located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Lima and majority owned by China’s state-run shipping giant Cosco Shipping Ports.
The port covers 180 hectares of Peruvian territory and has the capacity to handle up to one million containers a year.
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In a message posted by the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Washington wrote on X it was “concerned about latest reports that Peru could be powerless to oversee Chancay, one of its largest ports, which is under the jurisdiction of predatory Chinese owners”.
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“We support Peru’s sovereign right to oversee critical infrastructure in its own territory. Let this be a cautionary tale for the region and the world: cheap Chinese money costs sovereignty,” the post added.
