How U.S. May React to Chinese Spy Base on Cuba

The U.S. is likely to respond "with a power move of its own" if reports that China is planning to build a spy base on Cuba are true, according to a prominent geopolitical analyst.

China and Cuba have agreed a multi-billion dollar deal that will see Beijing build an advanced electronic eavesdropping station on the Caribbean island, according to a Wall Street Journal report published on Thursday.

Tensions between China and the U.S. remain high, with the world's two biggest economies clashing over Taiwan, the South China Sea, human rights and espionage.

In February an American F-22 fighter jet shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, after it had made its way eastwards across North America.

The Wall Street Journal said it spoke to U.S. officials who found the intelligence they have about Beijing building a spy base on Cuba "convincing," and noted this would enable the Chinese to track signal intelligence, including phone calls, emails and satellite transmissions, over a swathe of the southwestern United States.

When asked by Newsweek if the reports are correct, a State Department official commented: "We 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.

"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."

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based security think tank, told Newsweek some U.S. response is likely if the reports are correct.

He said: "While this isn't going to herald a modern-day Cuban Missile Crisis, no country would spend billions on such an audacious and provocative move, placing a spy facility on a competitor's doorstep, without fully understanding the consequences of such a decision.

"This will focus U.S. attention on the seriousness with which China is attempting to undermine its global primacy, and likely lead to an increase in tensions between the two powers as the U.S. responds with a power move of its own to redress the balance."

In 1962 the Kennedy administration placed Cuba under a naval "quarantine" in response to the stationing of Soviet ballistic missiles on the island, sparking fears of open war. Following a confrontation, the USSR agreed to remove its missiles, and some months later U.S. missiles were also removed from Turkey.

Earlier in June, a Chinese warship passed within 150 yards of an American destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, with the U.S. Navy's Indo-Pacific Command claiming Beijing's vessel "executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner" near to the USS Chung-Hoon.

James Stavridis, formerly NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, described the incident as "unprofessional and provocative behavior on the part of the Chinese," adding: "Wars start with incidents like this."