China reportedly reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility in a location roughly 100 miles (160.9 km) from Florida, according to US officials familiar with classified intelligence.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday that the spy station would allow Beijing to monitor ship traffic and gather electronic communication from the southeastern United States, which currently houses multiple US bases, such as the US Central Command in Tampa and Fort Liberty in North Carolina, and a major space launch site in Cape Canaveral.
Officials said both countries had reached an agreement in principle, with China paying Cuba "several billion dollars" to allow the construction of the spy station.
Also, the WSJ stated the intelligence plans for a Cuba station were gathered in recent weeks and were convincing. The officials said it would allow China to conduct signals intelligence, including emails, phone calls, and satellite transmission.
However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated he "cannot speak to [the] report," but they are very much aware of the Chinese effort to "invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes." "We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world," he added.
US-China Relations Deteriorating
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Washington stated they were "not aware of the case" and could not comment at the moment.
The WSJ report added the deal between China and Cuba, two of the US's rivals ruled by communist governments, has caused alarm in the Biden administration as it poses a new threat close to American shores.
The deal came at a time when the US and China are deescalating the tensions brought about by the detection of a suspected Chinese spy balloon in February. It could also raise questions about a trip to China Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been planning in the coming weeks as part of the Biden administration's push to boost engagement with China despite multiple close encounter incidents.
Senator: China Spy Station in Cuba a 'Direct Assault' on US
US Senate Foreign Relations chair Bob Menendez (D-NJ) said if the report was true, China's spy station in Cuba would be "a direct assault upon the United States." "I hope the administration will think about how they'll react if it's true," he added.
Meanwhile, a former US intelligence official with knowledge of signals intelligence collection told Reuters a Chinese listening post in Cuba would be a "big deal."
With that said, the US has been spying on China as well, using Taiwan as its listening post for the mainland. The US Air Force and Navy also loiter around the South China Sea by flying spy planes there regularly.
In addition, the head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau told its parliament that the country was conducting real-time encrypted intelligence sharing with the Five Eyes partners, of which the US is a part.
Cuba would also benefit from the deal as the cash infusion for building the spy station would help stabilize its economy.
Cuba was an old adversary of the US since the Cold War and has been used as a staging ground for espionage and secret plans such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was widely regarded as the moment when the United States and the Soviet Union came closest to a nuclear confrontation.
The Soviet Union also had a spy station near Havana that remained operational until 2001, when Russian President Vladimir Putin had it closed down.
Meanwhile, China has a single overseas base in Djibouti which was expanded since its establishment in 2017.