The White House and Cuba independently rejected a media report that said that China was planning to build a spy base on the island nation just 90 miles away from the continental USA. The initial report, published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said that China and Cuba had entered into a secret agreement that would let China set up an electronic eavesdropping facility in Cuba. This, said the report, would enable China to monitor communications across the southeastern United States. WSJ said that China had paid “several billion dollars” to Cuba for this.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby denied the story.
“I’ve seen that press report. It’s not accurate,” Kirby told MSNBC.
“What I can tell you is that we have been concerned since day one of this administration about China’s influence activities around the world, certainly in this hemisphere and in this region,” he said.
“We are watching this very closely,” he added.
Additionally, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder also called the Journal report inaccurate.
“We are not aware of China and Cuba developing any type of spy station,” Ryder said, adding: “The relationship that those two countries share is something that we continuously monitor.”
Cuba denies report
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio addressed a press conference in Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Havana and denied that plans for a Chinese spy base were underway.
He said Cuba rejects all foreign military presence in Latin America, “including the many US bases and troops.”
“Slander of this kind is often fabricated by US officials,” the official said.
US lawmakers on alert
The WSJ report, however, has led several US lawmakers to raise alarm.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican Marco Rubio, who head the Senate Intelligence Committee said that they were “deeply disturbed” by the WSJ report.
“The United States must respond to China’s ongoing and brazen attacks on our nation’s security,” they said.
“We must be clear that it would be unacceptable for China to establish an intelligence facility within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of Florida and the United States.”
Strained relations
The report in the Wall Street Journal has come amid strain in relations between the US and China. There has been friction between the countries over number of issues including Taiwan. China considers Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out use of force to someday capture the island. The US is among the biggest backers of Taiwan and carries out navigation exercises in Taiwan Strait.
(With inputs from agencies)
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