Originally published June 9, 2023 6:30 am PDT
The site will reportedly be located about 100 miles from Florida.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a report stating that China and Cuba allegedly have agreed to construct an “eavesdropping facility” about 100 miles from Florida.
- The site would allow Chinese intelligence to collect communications across the southeastern United States and surveil ships.
- Officials have reportedly said that China will pay Cuba several billion dollars for the project.
- “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 to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere,” National Security Council John Kirby told WSJ.
- “We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world,” he said.
- It is unknown whether construction of the site has begun, or what can be done to combat the facility.
- Senior fellow at the national security think-tank ‘Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Craig Singleton told the outlet that “[e]stablishing this facility signals a new, escalatory phase in China’s broader defense strategy. It’s a bit of a game changer. The selection of Cuba is also intentionally provocative.”
CHINA’S DEALS WITH CUBA:
- Cuba is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a program to indebt poorer countries by offering them loans to pay China to create infrastructure projects, arguably a form of economic subjugation.
- China has claimed that the goal of the initiative is to reconstruct the Ancient Silk Road.
- In January 2023, China granted $100 million to Cuba to be used for unknown projects.
- Cuban Ambassador to China Carlos Miguel Pereira said the funds would be “destined for the execution of high social impact projects linked to prioritized sectors of our economy.”
- The Communist Party of Cuba announced another deal with China in March to facilitate Chinese tourism to the island.
- State-operated Cuban news agency Agencia Cubana de Noticias reported that the deal allows Chinese tourists to travel to Cuba as a “reliable and safe destination.”
BACKGROUND:
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns recently made a secret trip to Beijing, reportedly to repair China-U.S. relations.
- The move is being seen as an indication of the mounting concern within the Biden administration about the worsening ties with China.
- “Last month, director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communications in intelligence channels,” according to an official statement.
