HAVANA: Cuba has allowed China to build a spying facility on the island that could enable the Chinese to bug electronic communications across the southeastern United States.
Washington learned about the project in the last several weeks, and it is unclear whether Beijing has already started building the surveillance center, CNN reported on Thursday.
It would not be the first time Beijinf has attempted to spy on the United States’ electronic communications. A suspected spy balloon of China transited the US in February was capable of collecting signals intelligence and is said to have transmitted back in near-real time.
In that case, the US took measures to censor intelligence signals and protect sensitive sites before shooting down the balloon. But it was unclear what Washington could do to stop the construction of a spying facility in Cuba.
Washington also conducts espionage missions near China, using spy aircraft routinely engaging in electronic bugging. A Chinese fighter plane recently intercepted one of those US jets in what Washington described as an unprofessional and dangerous maneuver.
But the news about the potential Chinese spy outpost in Cuba comes as US-China ties have worsened following the spy balloon incident and multiple aggressive maneuvers by Chinese aircraft and vessels against US assets in the South China Sea.
US tries to mend ties with China
Washington has been trying to mend ties, and CIA Director Bill Burns went to Beijing last month for negotiations with Chinese officials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also likely visit Beijing in the coming weeks.
But last week, the defense chief of China refused a meeting request by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and warned the United States to stop operating near the waters and airspace of China.
