China is reportedly planning to build a spy base in Cuba that will be focused on intercepting communications within the United States.
The base, which is expected to be completed by 2024, will be located in the town of Mariel, Cuba, around 100 miles off the American coast, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal. It will reportedly be equipped with powerful radar and satellite dishes that will be used to collect data on U.S. communications.
U.S. Officials said that the Chinese facility would allow Beijing to monitor emails, phone calls, and satellite transmissions through espionage monitoring known as SIGINT.
“While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are well aware of — and have spoken many times to — the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere,” Kirby said. “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.”
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said recent events have pointed to “unbelievable aggression” from communist China directed at Western nations.
“Well, what we’re seeing is an unbelievable aggression by China,” Turner told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. “If you look at the balloon that flew over the United States, the Chinese police stations, the aggressiveness against our both planes and ships in international water, it goes right to the heart of what President Xi said when he stood next to Putin in Russia, where he said, they’re trying to make change that had not happened in 100 years.”
