The move would allow Beijing to surveil the southeastern
United States, home to many military facilities and sensitive industries.
The Biden administration is not confirming China’s interest in securing access to a military facility in Cuba. | Thibault Camus/AP Photo
By ALEXANDER
WARD and JOE GOULD
06/08/2023 09:55 AM EDT
Updated: 06/08/2023 05:55 PM EDT
China is in talks with Cuba to establish a foothold there to
spy on the United States, two senior U.S. officials said, a provocative move
that already has lawmakers warning about parallels to the Cold War.
The officials, granted anonymity to discuss an extremely
sensitive intelligence matter, said that China was in direct conversations with
Cuba to set up a base on the island nation just 100 miles from the United
States. It would allow Beijing to collect signals intelligence on southeastern
portions of America, home to many military facilities and major industries.
Evidence of the negotiations came to light in recent weeks, the officials said.
Such a pact between China and Cuba could threaten to derail
the Biden administration’s efforts to “thaw” its frosty relations with Beijing.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit China in the coming weeks, a trip that
was postponed in February after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon after
it traversed North America. Diplomacy with China continues mainly at the
economic and trade level, while military-to-military discussions are
practically nonexistent.
The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report on the discussions, said Beijing and Havana
reached a “secret agreement” whereby China pays Cuba billions of dollars for a
facility. The two officials told POLITICO they couldn’t confirm that there was
a finalized deal, only that China was in discussions with Cuba about spying on
the United States.
On Thursday morning, National Security Council spokesperson
John Kirby didn’t confirm any negotiations between China and Cuba but said the
administration was watching China’s movements in the region closely. After
publication, Kirby told POLITICO the reports were “not accurate” without
specifying which details were wrong. He added: “We remain confident that we are
able to meet all our security commitments at home and in the region.”
Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco
Rubio (R-Fla.), the top two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee,
said in a Thursday afternoon statement that they were “deeply disturbed” by the
reports. “It would be unacceptable for China to establish an intelligence
facility within 100 miles of Florida and the United States.”
“We urge the Biden administration to take steps to prevent
this serious threat to our national security and sovereignty,” they continued.
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio
said in a statement that the WSJ story was full of “totally false and unfounded
information” and that Cuba rejects the presence of a foreign military
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cuban Embassy did not respond
to a question about any talks with China about a deal to spy on the United
States.
The report comes as the U.S. is trying to restore more
regular military contacts with Beijing. CIA Director William Burns made a
secret trip to China last month to keep the lines of communication between
Washington and Beijing open. President Joe Biden dispatched the spy chief in
hopes of reviving higher-level conversations between the two powers.
A Defense Department official said the Pentagon was aware of
China’s attempts to invest in infrastructure around the world, including in the
Western hemisphere, that may have military purposes and will continue to
monitor the efforts.
The CIA declined a request to comment on the talks. The
State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The
Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the issue, saying in a
statement “we are not aware of the case.”
The revelation already has members of Congress worried about
the echoes of America’s last great power rivalry.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House
Select China Committee, said in a statement the Biden administration should
consider retaliatory actions including “ending Huawei export licenses,
restricting outbound investment in crucial sectors of the PRC…and preventing
Chinese Communist Party land purchases near military bases.”
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) said Blinken should not
travel to China following the revelation and the recent harassment of American ships and aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region.
“The Chinese Communist Party is executing the Soviet Union’s
playbook,” said Waltz, a member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services
committees.
The Soviet Union operated its largest signals intelligence
site in Lourdes, just outside of Havana, a facility that closed after 2001. “If
it’s China’s intent to reopen it, this will be the largest spy base once
again,” Waltz said. “If that’s not evidence enough that we’re in a new Cold
War, I don’t know what is.”
In 1962, the United States discovered Soviet missiles in
Cuba, leading to an infamous crisis that brought the world to the nuclear
brink.
Lawmakers from both parties were alarmed at the news on
Thursday.
“If true, it just goes to show where the Cuban regime is all
along. They are an adversary to the United States, and to allow the Chinese to
construct a signals intelligence facility in their country is a direct assault
upon the United States,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob
Menendez (D-N.J.). “I hope the administration will think about how they
will react if it’s true.”
Some Republicans said the development was a sign that
Biden’s efforts to cool tensions with China are failing.
“It is a disaster for the Biden administration. It shows
that what they’re trying, their policies are not working at all, the aggression
of China continues,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). “Here they’re
flying over to China, maybe as we speak, to grovel to Beijing. Meanwhile,
Beijing is basically giving us the middle finger.”
Hawley said it’s a sign that Congress has misplaced its
priorities by supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
“I’m sure we’ll soon be voting on yet another supplemental
aid package to Ukraine. Meanwhile, China is literally in our backyard now,”
Hawley said. “I don’t know when people on the Hill will wake up to this, but
maybe it’ll take the fall of Taiwan, which I’m sure will be next.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) demanded swift
congressional action against the “grave threats” posed by a potential Chinese
spy base in Cuba. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
should “set dates for security briefings and public hearings in the Senate”
about those dangers, Scott said in a statement.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for president in
2024, said the news is “staggering.”
“The real threat is now staring us in the face, not just in
the Eastern hemisphere, but now in the West. This is a big deal,” he continued,
“and the alarm bells are blaring.”
China’s only official foreign military base is in Djibouti.
But Beijing has worked for years to establish a stronger presence in the
Western hemisphere.
In March, Gen. Laura Richardson, head of U.S. Southern
Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that China was on a
“relentless march” to replace the United States as the preeminent regional
power. The country, for example, has a military-run space station in Argentina.
“This is a risk we can’t ignore,” Richardson said at the
hearing.
Nahal Toosi, Phelim Kine and Lara Seligman contributed to
this report.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/08/china-spy-on-us-cuba-00100990
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