Secondo the information reported from the Wall Street Journal, Beijing has allegedly concluded an agreement with Cuba to plant the foundations of a new electronic listening station under the nose of the United States, a stone's throw from Florida.
In Cuba, Chinese ears on America
The planned station in Cuba would allow China to listen to electronic communications coming from the southeastern United States. Above all, to keep an eye on naval traffic in a crucial area. An area that hosts numerous military bases, including the headquarters of the United States Central Command (in Tampa).
The costs of the agreement, according to the US newspaper's sources, are exorbitant. It's a multi-billion dollar operation.
Question and answer
The response from the United States was not long in coming. John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, issued a statement in which he “reacted without reacting.” While not directly referring to the news, you highlighted the administration's awareness of China's efforts to invest in infrastructure for possible military purposes. Including those in this hemisphere.
At the moment, despite the cryptic statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington and the absence of comments from Cuba, the agreement between the two countries has already raised alarms in the Biden administration.
What's behind it and what awaits us
Just over 60 years after the missile crisis that saw the installation of Soviet nuclear weapons, Cuba still proves fertile ground for geopolitical skirmishes. This time it could be China who sets up shop, annoyed by the "dangerous relations" of the USA with Taiwan. Not to mention the controversy over the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon by the American army.
More fuel on the fire for the next trip to China by the Secretary of State Antony blinken, already postponed several times. That would be the least of the problems anyway.
Cuba opens to Beijing, the possible consequences
The situation could escalate quickly. The Senator Bob menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a well-known hawk on Cuba, said that if the news turned out to be true, it would be a “direct attack” on the US. And even though his country itself has a long history of espionage against China, a Chinese listening installation in Cuba would still represent a "big problem."
China, meanwhile, continues to extend its network of relations throughout the world: and Cuba, struggling with inflation, fuel shortages, an agricultural crisis and an exhausted economy, could find crucial help in Chinese money. The USA is paying for the shortcomings of an "idyll" that never took off with Havana: Biden's partial cancellation of the restrictions imposed by Trump is considered insufficient by Cubans.
And while the two superpowers continue to move their pawns on the chessboard of the new (hopefully) cold war, it is tranquil Cuba that finds itself, once again, at the center of the storm.
