The Biden Administration confirmed that China has been spying on the United States from a base in Cuba, calling it an "ongoing issue."
On Saturday, the Biden White House said the Chinese spy base had already been established, adding that the issue was inherited before President Joe Biden took office.
"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 said. "When this administration took office in January 2021, we were briefed on a number of sensitive PRC efforts around the world to expand its overseas logistics, basing, and collection infrastructure globally to allow the [military] to project and sustain military power at a greater distance."
"This effort included the presence of PRC intelligence collection facilities in Cuba," the official continued. "In fact, the PRC conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019. This is well-documented in the intelligence record."
On Thursday, several outlets reported that China and Cuba reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility, which would allow 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."
The reports claimed that China had agreed to pay Cuba billions of dollars to build the underground station, with U.S. officials describing the intelligence on the plans as "convincing."
However, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the reports were "inaccurate."
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, criticized Biden for allowing China to walk all over the U.S.
"President Biden needs to stop ignoring the threat from China," he said in a statement. "In less than 48 hours, officials from the Biden administration have contradicted themselves multiple times about whether or not the Chinese Communist Party is spying on the United States. This is unacceptable."
