China and Cuba are discussing building a joint military training facility, according to The Wall Street Journal, a report that comes after the White House earlier said Beijing has a spy base on the island about 90 miles from the United States.
The two countries were holding advanced talks about opening the facility in northern Cuba, the newspaper on Tuesday cited U.S. officials as saying, adding that it could pave the way for Beijing to station troops there permanently and expand espionage activities.
The United States was in contact with Cuban officials about preventing the plans from going forward, the Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.
China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that she wasn’t aware of the matter. The U.S. and Cuban embassies in Beijing didn’t reply to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, a senior U.S. official said in a statement issued on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity that intelligence indicated China has long maintained espionage facilities in Cuba and that they were expanded in 2019.
The White House had pushed back days earlier on a report in the Journal that China and Cuba had reached a secret agreement to establish a spy facility on the island. The administration’s position is there’s been no new deal, and the facilities have been in place for years.
The bases would allow Chinese intelligence services to eavesdrop on electronic communications throughout the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are located, and monitor ship traffic, according to the report.
