According to a White House official, China has had an intelligence unit in Cuba for years. ‘This is well documented in intelligence documents’the US official, who wishes to remain anonymous, said Saturday, as US news portal Politico first reported.
When US President Joe Biden took office, his services were briefed on Beijing’s efforts to expand its infrastructure specifically for global espionage. The effort also included intelligence gathering facilities in Cuba. In 2019, the Chinese facilities there were expanded. “It is a permanent problem and not a new development”said the Biden administration official.
In recent days, US media had reported that China and Cuba had signed a secret agreement to build a Chinese spy station in the Caribbean country. China wants to pay the communist-ruled island state several billions for permission to build the station.
Cuba had vehemently denied these media reports. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio called the reports “false and baseless”. The White House had previously labeled the reports as inaccurate.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, for his part, said on Friday that he was “not aware of the situation”. but criticized the “spreading of rumors and slander” as a “common tactic” of the US.
The US official said Saturday that Washington believes diplomatic efforts have slowed China’s development of intelligence capabilities in Cuba. “We think the People’s Republic of China is not quite where it hoped it would be”said the officer.
Relations between the US and China have been tense for some time. In February, the overflight of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the United States caused diplomatic unrest, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing. According to information from US government circles, Blinken will make up for the trip on June 18.
At the time, the US shot down the balloon over the US east coast, which in turn provoked angry reactions in Beijing. The US sees the economic and militarily emerging China as the world’s greatest geopolitical challenge.
During the Cold War, the then-Soviet Union maintained listening stations in Cuba to spy on the United States. When the Soviet Union stationed nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962, it led to one of the most dangerous crises of the Cold War. Moscow eventually withdrew the intermediate-range missiles.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
