Biden admin confirms China spy base efforts in Cuba, calls it ‘ongoing issue’

The Biden administration on Saturday confirmed that China is moving to increase its spying efforts in Cuba, calling it an “ongoing issue,” after the administration said reports that Beijing had secured a deal to build a new spy base on the island were inaccurate.

“This is an ongoing issue, and not a new development, and the arrangement as characterized in the reporting does not comport with our understanding,” an administration official told Fox News on Saturday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday that China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, allowing Chinese intelligence services to “scoop up electronic communications throughout the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are located, and monitor U.S. ship traffic.”