Beijing and Havana in talks about joint military base in northern Cuba
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – China and Cuba are in talks over building a joint military training facility in northern Cuba that could lead to Beijing having permanently stationed troops close to the United States, thus also expanding the scope for espionage activity, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The facility would be located just 100 miles from the US mainland.
Citing senior US officials, the WSJ report said the Biden administration is in talks with Cuban officials about blocking plans for the facility. This week’s WSJ report follows a recent statement from the White House that it is aware Beijing has been spying on the US from a base in Cuba for years.
In a statement to Politico, a US administration official said: “We continue to be concerned about [China’s] longstanding activities with Cuba…[Beijing] will keep trying to enhance its presence in Cuba, and we will keep working to disrupt it.”
According to the WSJ sources, Chinese intelligence services could listen to electronic communications across southeast America, where many military bases are located, and monitor ship traffic, Bloomberg reports.
Beijing and Havana are reportedly discussing what type of training would take place at the base, and what the leadership structure would be, the WSJ sources said.