A Biden administration official and two other sources told the CNN on Saturday (10) that China has operated military and intelligence facilities in Cuba since at least 2019, and continues to expand its intelligence-gathering capabilities around the world.
The administration official said that China had “conducted an upgrade of its intelligence gathering facilities in Cuba in 2019” under the Trump administration and described the challenge as “inherited”.
“This is well documented in the intelligence log,” the officer said.
Earlier this week, the CNN confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that Cuba had agreed to allow China to build a new spy facility on the island that could allow the Chinese to eavesdrop on electronic communications in the southeastern US.
That deal is in principle, said one of the sources familiar with the intelligence, and the facility is believed not to have been built.
John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, called the Wall Street report “not accurate” and explained that “this is an ongoing problem, not a new development, and the arrangement featured in the report is not consistent with the our understanding”.
The revelations about expanding Chinese intelligence operations in Cuba come as U.S.-China relations hit a low point following the spy balloon incident in February and several aggressive maneuvers by Chinese aircraft and ships against U.S. assets in the South China Sea. recently.
The United States has been trying to mend the relationship and sent CIA Director Bill Burns to Beijing last month for talks with Chinese officials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to visit China in the coming weeks.
Despite that, last week China’s defense chief turned down a meeting request from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and warned the US to stop operating near Chinese waters and airspace.
Former US Ambassador to China Max Baucus said Saturday that he was “surprised” that the Biden administration initially denied reports that China operated intelligence and military facilities in Cuba and acknowledged that China has long has a “presence” on the island.
Baucus, who served as the top US diplomat in China for nearly three years during the Obama administration, described China’s intelligence capabilities during an interview with CNN as “not as strong as some fear”, but added that he thought “China would like to make it much stronger.”
The source familiar with the intelligence told the CNN that the various military and intelligence sites that China maintains in Cuba are part of the “long history” of cooperation between the two countries and part of China’s strategy to align itself with other autocratic countries from which it can advance its national security interests.
Chinese military and intelligence sites monitor shipping traffic, the Guantanamo naval base and US communications, said the source familiar with the matter. With so many communications moving from physical lines and cables to wireless, the People’s Republic of China will try to monitor them as well, the source added.
“We assessed that despite awareness of grassroots efforts and some attempts to address this challenge in the previous administration, we were not making enough progress and needed a more direct approach,” said the Biden administration official.
“The president instructed his team to create an approach to address this challenge,” the official added. “Our experts assess that our diplomatic efforts have slowed China down. We think that China is not quite where they expected it to be. Challenges remain and we remain concerned about China’s longstanding activities with Cuba. China will continue to try to increase its presence in Cuba and we will continue to work to stop it.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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