According to reports, Beijing has agreed to give Havana billions of dollars to construct a facility for electronic monitoring that focuses on the US
According to unidentified US intelligence officials quoted in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, China and Cuba have purportedly established a covert arrangement that would permit Beijing to build an electronic spying center on the island.
The spy base, which would be situated approximately 100 miles (160 km) from the state of Florida, would reportedly allow Chinese intelligence services to track US ship traffic and intercept electronic communications throughout the southeast region of the nation, which is home to numerous military bases.
Additionally, officials informed the WSJ that there had been an agreement in principle between China and Cuba to pay Cuba “several billion dollars” for the project. The outlet’s sources did not elaborate on the location of the base’s construction or whether it had actually started.
The People’s Republic of China is making investments in infrastructure all over the world that may be used for military purposes, including in this hemisphere, the National Security Council’s spokesman John Kirby said in a statement in response to the WSJ’s allegations. “While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are well aware of—and have spoken many times to—the People’s Republic of China’s efforts,” Kirby said. He continued, “We regularly watch it, take action to fight it, and continue to be convinced that we can achieve all of our security commitments at home, in the region, and throughout the world.
Reports of the putative transaction have not yet received a response from either the Chinese or Cuban embassies in Washington.
Despite the fact that the WSJ allegation is unsubstantiated, a number of US officials and commentators have expressed concern over China’s purported intention to establish a spy post in the vicinity of Washington.
According to Craig Singleton of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy in Washington, the establishment of this facility “signals a new, escalating phase in China’s broader defense strategy,” as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. The choice of Cuba is also purposefully controversial, he continued, calling it “a little bit of a game changer.”
Early in February, tensions between Washington and Beijing grew after US authorities said they shot down a Chinese spy balloon after seeing it above US territory. US authorities maintain that China utilized the device to gather intelligence, despite Beijing’s claim that it was just a meteorological probe that unintentionally entered US airspace.
