Global Courant
The Biden administration confirmed on Saturday that China is taking steps to step up its espionage efforts in Cuba, calling it an “ongoing problem” after the administration said reports Beijing had struck a deal to open a new espionage base on the island. to build were incorrect.
“This is an ongoing issue, not a new development, and the arrangement described in the coverage does not match our understanding,” a government official told Fox News Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday that China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic wiretapping facility on the island, allowing Chinese intelligence agencies to “pick up electronic communications in the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are established, and follow US shipping traffic.”
FILE: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives to attend the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC Summit, November 19, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP)
The report, citing officials familiar with the matter, said China had agreed to pay Cuba several billion dollars to allow the country to build the eavesdropping station. According to the report, US officials described information about the plans as “convincing”.
However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the report on the China-Cuba base is “not accurate.” The National Security Council separately told Fox News that the WSJ report and a Politico report on the subject are false, but did not elaborate.
On Saturday, the government official said the government had been briefed on a “number of sensitive PRC efforts around the world to expand its overseas logistics, base and collection infrastructure globally to enable the PLA to project military power at greater distances and to be preserved” in January 2021.
The official said China had considered a number of locations in the Atlantic, Latin America, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
“This effort included the presence of PRC intelligence-gathering facilities in Cuba,” the official said. “In fact, the PRC upgraded its intelligence-gathering facilities in Cuba in 2019. This is well documented in the intelligence file.”
The statement also appeared to criticize the Trump administration for its handling of China’s efforts in Cuba.
“This is a problem that this government has inherited. It was our assessment that, despite awareness of grassroots efforts and some efforts to address this challenge in the previous government, we were not making enough progress and needed a more direct approach” said the official. said.
The official said President Biden directed his team to take up the challenge, and that the administration has been working “quietly” and “cautiously” on that approach and has seen results.
“Our experts believe that our diplomatic efforts have slowed the PRC,” the official said. “We think the PRC is not quite where they hoped. There are still challenges and we remain concerned about the PRC’s longstanding activities with Cuba. The PRC will continue to try to strengthen its presence in Cuba, and we will continue to work to disrupt it.”
The official added that the government is confident in its ability to meet security obligations domestically and in the region.
This is a current news item; check back for updates.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at [email protected] or at Twitter.
