Commentary
China’s spy base in Cuba may be a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.
“We are deeply disturbed by reports that Havana and Beijing are working together to target the United States and our people,” wrote Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in a recent statement regarding the Chinese spy base to be constructed in Cuba.
Cuba, which lies only 90 miles from U.S. shores, has permitted China to build a military spy base, which will allow the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to monitor American communications and military and maritime operations. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio refuted the claims that a Chinese base was being constructed in the country, claiming that the allegations were just a pretext to support a U.S. embargo of Cuba. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied any knowledge of the situation.
After a brief period, during the early part of the Obama administration, when it looked as if relations between the United States and Cuba were about to improve, things have just got steadily worse. In 2016, roughly 200 U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials became ill due to “Havana Syndrome,” which was alleged to have been caused by ultrasound and microwave weapons. Relations worsened under the Trump administration, which designated Havana as a state-sponsor of terrorism.
Relations with China are also at a low. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s Annual Threat Assessment recognized China and Russia as the most serious threats to the United States, particularly as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to expand its interests beyond China’s borders. The PLA already has bases in Djibouti and Cambodia and is suspected of building bases in Burma (also known as Myanmar) and the United Arab Emirates. Beijing has financed container ports and purchased lithium mining operations in Latin America.
Additionally, the Chinese National Space Administration, as part of the Chinese Deep Space Network, has established a space monitoring station in Argentina, near the Straits of Magellan. Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, referred to the CCP’s incursions in Latin America as a “relentless march” and an attempt to displace the United States. A CCP base in Cuba would be the next step toward establishing CCP dominance in the Americas.
Clashes between the interests of the United States and those of the CCP seem to be occurring more frequently. Earlier this year, a number of Chinese spy balloons drifted over the United States. In March, China accused a U.S. vessel of violating Chinese waters in disputed territory. A few weeks later, the FBI raided a secret Chinese police station in the United States, while reports suggest that several others exist. This month, while executing unsafe maneuvers, a PLA Navy ship nearly collided with a U.S. naval vessel near Taiwan. At the same time, the United States is increasing its defense cooperation in the region, opening four new bases in the Philippines. The CCP is also trying to find allies, sending a training ship, the Qi Juguang, to Vietnam.
Most of the world’s top economies also recognize the threat posed by the CCP. At the G-7 summit in May, a central topic of discussion was “de-risking,” meaning that the group’s members realized the danger of continuing economic dependence on China trade. U.S. allies have largely agreed to abide by a ban on the sale of advanced micro-processing chips to China.
Now that China is retaliating by excluding certain U.S. companies from their markets, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to implore Japan, South Korea, and other U.S. allies not to attempt to profit from CCP-imposed restrictions.
While trade relations between U.S. allies and China worsen and tensions grow in the South China Sea, it appears that a CCP base in Cuba would violate the Monroe Doctrine. Under the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, European powers—later understood to be all foreign powers—were to be blocked from interfering in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. President Theodore Roosevelt interpreted the doctrine as allowing the United States to play the role of “international police power” to fight against “chronic wrongdoing,” verbiage he added in the Roosevelt Corollary.
In 1962, the doctrine was tested when the Soviet Union was believed to be building up weapons and positioning nuclear missiles in Cuba. The two superpowers came close to nuclear war. In the end, the Soviets backed down. Sixty years later, it seems now that a similar scenario is playing out again, but this time the adversary is the CCP.
On June 9, reacting to reports of the spy base, U.S. lawmakers issued a statement: “We urge the Biden administration to take steps to prevent this serious threat to our national security and sovereignty.” While the White House has confirmed that China has had some type of spy base in Cuba since 2019, the Biden administration has yet to explain what action it plans to take against the CCP’s latest expansion into the Americas.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
