The International Times, a Chinese federal government propaganda newspaper, dismissed a Wall Street Journal report accusing Beijing of setting up a “spy base” in Cuba as an effort to mess up a reported go to by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China this month.
The state paper, which acts as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, mocked the report as an “old-fashioned and bad … script” made by anti-Chinese actors within the U.S. government and a repeat of outrage surrounding the intrusion of American airspace by a Chinese vessel in January later recognized as a “spy balloon.” The administration of President Joe Biden permitted the balloon to cross the continental United States, reportedly collecting intelligence over delicate military sites, before shooting it down in Atlantic waters.
In this photo supplied by Chad Fish, the remnants of a big balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, February 4, 2023. (Chad Fish via AP)
Blinken was set up to take a trip to China in February– according to reports unofficial by both China and the Biden administration– however supposedly canceled the journey amid the “spy balloon” scandal. Chinese authorities refused to concern that Blinken had actually canceled the trip on the grounds that no see was ever confirmed.
Likewise, several reports, consisting of in the Global Times, began appearing recently claiming that Blinken had actually rescheduled the supposed February visit for mid-June. The Chinese Foreign Ministry refused to validate those reports last week and once again neither confirmed nor denied them throughout its routine press instruction on Monday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Routine Interview on June 12, 2023.(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Republic of China)
As rumors of Blinken’s return to China appeared, the Wall Street Journal published a report based upon anonymous sources recently claiming that China and the Cuban Communist Celebration had come to an arrangement that would allow Beijing to operate a “spy base” on the island.
“Officials familiar with the matter stated that China has actually accepted pay cash-strapped Cuba several billion dollars to allow it to build the eavesdropping station, which the 2 countries had reached a contract in concept,” the newspaper reported. “Officials declined to offer more information about the proposed place of the listening station or whether building had started.”
First, it was a Chinese spy balloon.
Now, it’s a Chinese spy base.
Didn’t happen under President Trump.
But occurring now under President Biden. https://t.co/XlBcr4DAfB
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 8, 2023
Cuba and China both vehemently rejected the report. White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby called the report “not accurate” on Thursday, despite being quoted in the report himself.
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On Saturday, confidential supposed Biden administration sources “verified” to the Associated Press and Spanish newswire service EFE that China was operating a spy base under the Castro regime considering that a minimum of 2019. EFE reported that the White House “declassified” details Biden got following his inauguration in 2020 that China had actually “refurbished” an “intelligence-gathering setup” on the island of Cuba in 2019. The AP reported that an unnamed Biden administration authorities stated “China conducted an upgrade of its spying operation on the island in 2019.”
While corporate American media reports used the report to show that the Cuban spy base was an issue unaddressed under the administration of previous President Donald Trump– and the main talking to EFE explicitly described it as an “acquired” Trump administration problem– making use of terms such as “refurbish” and “upgrade” recommended the site had been in Cuba for a long time and was old adequate to require upgrades– possibly going back to the Castro-friendly Obama administration, when Biden functioned as vice president.
The Chinese Global Times duplicated its assertion that the spy base was a “report” on Saturday, following the upgraded reports claiming the base had been there for at least four years. This time, the state mouth piece firmly insisted that the U.S. government, through its confidential sources, was attempting to sabotage itself– or, namely, Antony Blinken– in an effort to interfere with any prospective thaw in relations in between Washington and Beijing.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his airplane at Hanoi Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, April 16, 2023, to travel to Japan for the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
“It is apparent that some individuals in the United States wish to ruin the possible see again, and the White Home’s subsequent performance is not so much refuting the report, however a rumor-style description,” the Global Times editorial implicated, while refusing to validate any such go to. The state publication claimed that there was “a direct and close relationship” in between the Cuba story and Blinken’s prospective see.
“If there hadn’t been a round of buzz about the “balloon occurrence” in the US in February, the present show might have a little bit more novelty,” the editorial continued, “The US side has actually constantly directed and acted by itself, and this time the film writer has included some new interesting aspects, but the script as a whole is still old-fashioned and crappy.”
It went on to validate China declining to openly go over a potential Blinken go to by claiming that American “unpredictability” around such a strategy might go on to embarrass China if Blinken cancels his journey once again.
“We are not afraid to speculate with the greatest malice about some American radical political leaders,” the Global Times concluded. “The White Home has an intention to make use of and control this occurrence to create a problem prior to Blinken’s check out to China, ensuring that it takes the effort versus China without losing control.”
Like the state newspaper, the Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned the report on its presence in Cuba again on Monday, though it did not directly implicate American federal government sources of attempting to sabotage the Blinken journey. On the potential go to, spokesperson Wang Wenbin just responded, “I have absolutely nothing to share.”
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