China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement that will allow Beijing to install an electronic eavesdropping base on the archipelago, in what is a new challenge to the United States, according to US sources familiar with top secret intelligence information.
The Wall Street Journal reports it exclusively. A base in Cuba, about 160 kilometers from Florida, would allow Chinese intelligence services to spy on electronic communications in the southeastern United States, where many US military bases are located. According to sources, China has agreed to pay several billion dollars to the Cuban government in cash.
An eavesdropping facility in Cuba, so close from Florida, would allow Chinese intelligence services to pick up electronic communications throughout the southeastern United States, where many military bases are located, and to monitor US naval traffic.
The agreement, writes the WSJ, was reached in a preliminary stage and must be specified in detail.
“While I can’t talk about this specific news, we are well aware – and have talked about it many times – of the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in our hemisphere,” he said. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council. “We closely monitor the situation, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we can meet all of our security commitments at home, in the region and around the world.”