John Bolton, former President Donald Trump's national security adviser, said Tuesday that China building "significant" military facilities in Cuba is "a red-flag threat to America."
"The potential of significant Chinese facilities in Cuba is a red-flag threat to America," Bolton wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill. "'Military training' could well camouflage offensive weapons, delivery systems or other threatening capabilities."
The Wall Street Journal first reported June 8 that China and Cuba reached a "secret agreement" to build a spy facility on the island, 100 miles from the coast of the United States.
The report said the facility would be capable of gathering electronic communications throughout the southeastern U.S.
An Associated Press report on June 11 cited an official in President Joe Biden's administration as saying the facility had been operating since 2019, under the administration of Trump.
In the same report, however, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio denied the Journal's report.
"I've seen that press report, it's not accurate," Kirby said in a televised interview. "What I can tell you is that we have been concerned since day one of this administration about China's influence activities around the world. Certainly, in this hemisphere and in this region, we're watching this very, very closely."
Fernandez de Cossio called the report "scandalous speculation," and said the media reports were meant to "cause harm and alarm" without evidence.
By June 20, however, U.S. officials told Reuters that the facility could also be used to house "Chinese troops and other security operations."
Bolton said in his piece that while the U.S. and Russia reached "an implicit understanding" after the 1962 Cuban missile crisis where the Russians would not put offensive weapons or delivery systems on the island nation, the U.S. would pledge not to invade and try to replace the regime of communist Fidel Castro, there is no such agreement or policy now with China to prevent such actions."
Bolton added: "For example, hypersonic cruise missiles, already harder to detect, track, and destroy than ballistic missiles, are natural candidates for installation in Cuba, a prospect we cannot tolerate, along with many other risks, like a Chinese submarine base. Beijing plainly deals with Havana as though it has no inhibitions. Neither should we. America should move immediately to thwart China's intrusive ambitions."
Bolton called for revoking diplomatic relations with Cuba and increased sanctions against Cuba and China as remedies for the "escalation."
"China's intrusion into Cuba reflects a significant escalation in its hegemonic aspirations, equal to or graver than the 1960s Soviet presence," he said. "One thing is certain: We should not stand idly by."
Bolton served as national security adviser under Trump from 2018-19, was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2005-06, and currently heads the John Bolton Super PAC, which supports candidates in favor of a strong U.S. foreign policy.
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