The United States has “deep concerns” about China’s intelligence and military activities in the Western Hemisphere, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Chinese Communist Party has a surveillance facility in Cuba about 100 miles off Florida’s coast, the Biden administration acknowledged earlier this month, while the two countries are negotiating the establishment of a new joint military base, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
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“Yes, I made very clear that we would have deep concerns about [Chinese] intelligence or military activities in Cuba,” Blinken said on Tuesday after his trip to Beijing when asked about the report. “Since the start of this administration, we have engaged a number of countries where we’ve seen consideration of having some kind of presence by China — intelligence, military — and we’ve engaged in a number of diplomatic efforts in that regard. And I think they’ve had some success in slowing down these efforts."
"This is something we’re going to be monitoring very, very closely, and we’ve been very clear about that," he added.
National Security Council coordinator John Kirby didn't directly address the reporting, though he said, "It's no secret or surprise [China] has been trying to improve their influence, their reach, and their intelligence collection capabilities in the Western Hemisphere. And that includes the relationship that they have had for quite some time with Cuba."
Roughly a week ago, Blinken acknowledged that they have known for years about this surveillance facility on the island.
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“When this administration took office in January 2021, we were briefed on a number of sensitive efforts by Beijing around the world to expand their overseas logistics basing collection infrastructure to allow them to project and sustain military power at a greater distance,” he said. “They were considering a number of sites around the world for that expansion, including intelligence collection facilities for intelligence collection in Cuba. In fact, based on the information we have, [China] conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019.”
The admission came days after the administration denied media reporting that China had agreed to build the facility.