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  • Written by Leland Lazarus, Associate Director of National Security, Florida International University
China's ties to Cuba and growing presence in Latin America raise security concerns in Washington, even as leaders try to ease tensions

There is a push by leaders in Washington and Beijing to get U.S.-China relations back on track. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with President Xi Jinping[1] in China in June 2023 to reopen the lines of communication between the countries. And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is spending four days in China, beginning July 6, 2023, to try to stabilize U.S.-China economic ties.

But work to steady security issues between the two countries, a longtime point of contention, may have a longer horizon.

In fact, the U.S. military’s decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon[2] that had been flying over the country in February 2023 derailed the scheduled diplomatic trip Blinken planned for China earlier in the year.

Now there are news reports that China made deals[3] with Cuba to set up an electronic eavesdropping station[4] on the island nation, just 90 miles from Florida – something Cuban government officials have denied[5] – and to build a military training facility[6] there. Such moves reflect efforts by China to grow its influence[7] in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A Biden administration official in June said China’s spying from Cuba is an ongoing issue that predates the president’s time in office and that U.S. intelligence knew China had upgraded existing espionage facilities[8] in Cuba in 2019.

An illuminated spy balloon flies in the night sky near lit buildings and above a sanded section of a beach near the ocean.
A suspected Chinese spy balloon flies over Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023, before the U.S. military shot it down. Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images[9]

As a researcher of China-Latin America relations and a former U.S. government official, I have seen firsthand China’s growing influence in Latin America and the Caribbean and am concerned about its far-reaching implications for U.S. national security[10].

Too close for comfort

China’s planned spy base and military training facility in Cuba would be located near the U.S. naval station in Guantanamo Bay[11], home to several U.S. military facilities[12] like U.S. Southern Command[13] in Miami and U.S. Central Command[14] and U.S. Special Operations Command[15] both in Tampa, along with their various component commands.

The facility would allow Chinese intelligence officers to better intercept sensitive military information transmitted between U.S. military commands, track senior U.S. diplomatic and military leaders as they travel across the region, monitor U.S. naval and commercial ship movement and gain details about U.S. military exercises, conferences and training with various Latin American and Caribbean countries[16].

The facility could also bolster China’s use of telecommunications networks to spy on U.S. citizens.

U.S. officials have long suspected Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE[17] of setting up servers and network equipment around the world, including in Cuba, to help the Chinese government collect sensitive information about local government leaders and private citizens.

Chinese companies such as China Harbor Engineering Company[18] have constructed dozens of deep-water port projects in Latin American and Caribbean countries, where Chinese intelligence agencies could track U.S. commercial or naval ship movements around important sea lanes like the Panama Canal, which could help China understand where to restrict U.S. maritime routes[19] during a potential military conflict.

A man wearing a light blue, open-collared shirt, reads into a microphone from a sheet of paper. Cuban Foreign Vice Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio rejected U.S. press reports about a planned Chinese espionage base there during a press conference on June 8, 2023. Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images[20]

Chinese companies have also either built or operate 12 space research facilities[21] in South America that can be used for legitimate space research. But U.S. and other officials have voiced concern that these same sites could be used to spy on U.S. satellites[22] and intercept sensitive information.

Illegal Chinese police

Chinese police forces are a growing presence as well. In April 2023, the FBI arrested two Chinese citizens for allegedly operating an illegal police station[23] in New York City’s Chinatown. According to The New York Times, the men allegedly harassed Chinese dissidents[24] living in the U.S.

China allegedly operates 100 of these police outposts[25] around the world. Fourteen of them are in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries.

China has also been stepping up its law enforcement engagement in Latin American and the Caribbean, donating anti-bullet vests[26], helmets[27] and vehicles to local security forces[28], and Latin American and Caribbean law enforcement officers have gone to China to receive training.

A sign that reads, The FBI suspects the Chinese government used this building in Chinatown in New York City as a secret police station to intimidate dissidents living in the U.S. Spencer Platt/Getty Images[29]

Chinese technology companies Huawei, ZTE, Dahua and Hikvision[30] have donated surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology to city governments in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia,[31] Ecuador[32], Guyana[33] and Suriname[34].

While these Chinese companies deploy these technologies to help Latin American and Caribbean governments reduce crime, they could also use them to spy on U.S. government personnel living in these countries. In fact, the U.S. has banned some of these companies[35] out of concern they spy for the Chinese government.

China’s participation in law enforcement activities in these countries erodes the U.S. position as the region’s preferred security partner.

Decades of growing influence

Meanwhile, a major source of conflict between the U.S. and China is the supply of the drug fentanyl. In April 2023, the Biden administration declared fentanyl an emerging threat[36] to U.S. national security. The fentanyl global supply chain often ends on U.S. streets, but it begins in various pharmaceutical company labs in China. The U.S. Treasury[37] and Justice[38] departments have sanctioned or charged several Chinese companies and individuals for knowingly selling fentanyl precursors to Mexican cartel operatives, who then produce the deadly fentanyl and sell it to Americans.

The China-Cuba connection is just one example of how the Chinese government and Chinese companies have been expanding their influence on America’s doorstep for decades. Not just through trade and investment, but also through espionage, military, law enforcement and drug activities. Such activities will greatly affect U.S. national security for years to come.

References

  1. ^ Antony Blinken met with President Xi Jinping (theconversation.com)
  2. ^ shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon (www.cnn.com)
  3. ^ news reports that China made deals (www.wsj.com)
  4. ^ set up an electronic eavesdropping station (www.reuters.com)
  5. ^ Cuban government officials have denied (www.wsj.com)
  6. ^ military training facility (www.wsj.com)
  7. ^ efforts by China to grow its influence (time.com)
  8. ^ espionage facilities (www.reuters.com)
  9. ^ Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
  10. ^ far-reaching implications for U.S. national security (www.forbes.com)
  11. ^ U.S. naval station in Guantanamo Bay (www.cnn.com)
  12. ^ U.S. military facilities (www.bloomberg.com)
  13. ^ U.S. Southern Command (www.southcom.mil)
  14. ^ U.S. Central Command (www.centcom.mil)
  15. ^ U.S. Special Operations Command (www.socom.mil)
  16. ^ with various Latin American and Caribbean countries (www.southcom.mil)
  17. ^ Huawei and ZTE (www.wsj.com)
  18. ^ China Harbor Engineering Company (www.reuters.com)
  19. ^ which could help China understand where to restrict U.S. maritime routes (www.southcom.mil)
  20. ^ Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
  21. ^ 12 space research facilities (features.csis.org)
  22. ^ to spy on U.S. satellites (www.reuters.com)
  23. ^ illegal police station (www.nytimes.com)
  24. ^ allegedly harassed Chinese dissidents (www.nytimes.com)
  25. ^ allegedly operates 100 of these police outposts (www.cnn.com)
  26. ^ donating anti-bullet vests (www.defensa.com)
  27. ^ helmets (www.tn8.tv)
  28. ^ vehicles to local security forces (newssourcegy.com)
  29. ^ Spencer Platt/Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
  30. ^ Huawei, ZTE, Dahua and Hikvision (techcrunch.com)
  31. ^ Bolivia, (dialogo-americas.com)
  32. ^ Ecuador (www.nytimes.com)
  33. ^ Guyana (www.stabroeknews.com)
  34. ^ Suriname (www.caribbeannationalweekly.com)
  35. ^ banned some of these companies (www.cnn.com)
  36. ^ emerging threat (www.whitehouse.gov)
  37. ^ Treasury (home.treasury.gov)
  38. ^ Justice (www.justice.gov)

Authors: Leland Lazarus, Associate Director of National Security, Florida International University

Read more https://theconversation.com/chinas-ties-to-cuba-and-growing-presence-in-latin-america-raise-security-concerns-in-washington-even-as-leaders-try-to-ease-tensions-208645

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