QUITO: The US and Venezuela have accused each other of triggering a possible arms race in South America through military deals seen as destabilising the region.

The 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 the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro, said during a meeting 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?'' Mr Maduro asked.

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).