US and Cuban officials have dismissed a report in the Wall Street Journal about a proposed Chinese surveillance base in Cuba. The article claimed that Beijing was planning to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, allowing China to conduct “signals intelligence” and intercept emails, phone calls and other data from the US. The Journal reported that an agreement had been reached in principle with Beijing agreeing to pay Cuba “several billion dollars” to set up the facility. However, the report has been denied by multiple government sources in the Caribbean and the United States.
US officials familiar with “highly classified intelligence” were quoted in the article, but White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby dismissed the report as inaccurate without elaborating on which aspect of the report was incorrect. Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a spokesperson for the US defence department, said that they were not aware of China and Cuba developing a new type of spy station. In Havana, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio dismissed the Journal article as “totally mendacious and unfounded”, calling it a US fabrication meant to justify Washington’s decades-old economic embargo against the island.
The report sent ripples through the US political sphere, particularly on the right. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley posted on Twitter: “This month alone, China has harassed and threatened a US fighter jet and naval ship. Now, it’s putting a spy base in Cuba.” Ohio Representative Jim Jordan echoed her outrage, blaming US President Joe Biden and tying the news to the aircraft earlier this year that US intelligence identified as a Chinese spy balloon traversing its airspace.
The Journal reported that the proposed facility would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the southeastern US, which houses many US military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic. The US Central Command headquarters is based in Tampa. Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, the largest US military base, is in North Carolina.
The reported deal comes as Washington and Beijing appear to be taking tentative steps towards easing tensions that have spiked over issues from Taiwan to the South China Sea, human rights and the suspected spy balloon. February’s furore over the balloon promoted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned visit to Beijing and there had been suggestions it could now take place in the coming weeks.
“We have had real concerns about China’s relationship with Cuba, and we have been concerned since day one of the administration about China’s activities in our hemisphere and around the world,” the White House’s Kirby said.
In conclusion, the report in the Wall Street Journal about a proposed Chinese surveillance base in Cuba has been dismissed by multiple government sources in the Caribbean and the United States. The article claimed that Beijing was planning to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, allowing China to conduct “signals intelligence” and intercept emails, phone calls and other data from the US. However, US and Cuban officials have denied the report, with White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby dismissing it as inaccurate. The report sent ripples through the US political sphere, particularly on the right, with Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Ohio Representative Jim Jordan expressing outrage. The reported deal comes as Washington and Beijing appear to be taking tentative steps towards easing tensions that have spiked over issues from Taiwan to the South China Sea, human rights and the suspected spy balloon.