WASHINGTON, Jun 24 House Foreign Relations Committee Chairs and the US Senate, Michael McCall and Robert Menendez requested Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns to hold a classified briefing on reports of China's spy base in Cuba.
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» House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCall and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns calling for a classified briefing on reports of a Chinese spy base in Cuba,» the House committee said in a statement.
Both chairmen are said to be «deeply alarmed at the national security implications» of the «growing intelligence and military capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party 90 miles from American shores.»
The committee of the House of Representatives also indicated that they were «not surprised by the historically open doors of the Cuban regime for opponents of the United States.»
«However, establishing intelligence bases and expanding military ties so close to US soil is a significant escalation move,» it added.
The Wall Street Journal previously wrote that several intelligence officials say Beijing is considering its actions in Cuba as a «geographical response» to US relations with Taiwan.
On Tuesday, Blinken said that China's activity on the Latin American island and in other countries is of serious concern to Washington.
U.S. media sources have previously reported that China has allegedly used a military base in Cuba to collect intelligence on the United States since 2019. According to them, Beijing and Havana «concluded a secret agreement» on the establishment of a Chinese base on the island for possible surveillance of the United States. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied these reports. John Kirby, National Security Council strategic communications coordinator at the White House, said the US was aware of the reports, but called them unreliable. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in turn, claims that it is not aware of this issue.