Ecuador Mulls Teaming With China For Manta Airport - Correa

QUITO --Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, said over the weekend that China could be a key partner in revamping the Manta airport next year after a contract expires allowing the U.S. military to operate from the base.

"The idea is when the U.S. base leaves, to make an international airport there, a hub (and to) look for a strategic associate that could be China to develop that runway, one of the best and best-positioned in Ecuador," Correa said in his nationally broadcast radio address.

A 10-year agreement allowing the U.S. Southern Command to use the Ecuadorian Air Base at Manta on the country's Pacific coast expires next year, and Correa has said he will not renew the contract.

The U.S. military uses Manta for anti-narcotics operations throughout the eastern Pacific, with a special focus on shipments originating in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia.

-By Katerine Erazo, Dow Jones Newswires; 5938-463-8528; mercedes.alvaro@dowjones.com