Gates says no South America base proposals made

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The Pentagon is looking for air bases in South America to use for counter-narcotics operations, but no proposals have been made yet to any country, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.

"We're not there yet," he told reporters during a five-nation tour of Latin America. "We're still looking at alternatives and haven't made any proposals to anyone."

Ecuador's president has refused to renew the Pentagon's lease on the Manta air base, expiring in 2009.

U.S. officials previously said Colombia and Peru had offered to discuss alternative sites, though both countries denied this.

Gates, en route from Colombia to Chile, said the question of a replacement for Manta was not discussed in his meetings Wednesday with Colombian officials. He said he did not plan to raise the issue during his other stops, which include Peru.

"The issue did not come up in Colombia and we have no proposals to anyone and it's not on my agenda at other stops either," he said.