Chinese Spy Base in Cuba Is Chinese Spy Balloon 2.0 for Biden: Lies, Obfuscation, Blame

In October 1962, the Kennedy Administration narrowly avoided catastrophic conflict with the Soviet Union over its placing of missiles on Communist Cuba’s mainland – within striking distance of the United States.  While war was averted, the problem posed by Communist Cuba and its malign Castro regime has never truly gone away.  That fact was highlighted once more this week when news broke of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to install a spy base on Cuban soil.  Sadly, instead of taking the right approach – neutralizing and deterring China’s espionage efforts while holding the Cuban government accountable – the Biden Administration continues to show weakness.  This makes the American people less safe.

Team Biden responded to news of a spy base in Cuba with its usual playbook: lies, obfuscation, and finally, blaming the Trump Administration.  White House National Security spokesman John Kirby flat-out called the report “not accurate” when it was first released.  He reversed course a few days later though, acknowledging the base only once the Administration had found a rationale to push blame onto the Trump Administration.  We should remember that this was the same approach Team Biden took with respect to the spy balloon incident earlier this year: First, there was no balloon, then they claimed it was a simple weather balloon, then, finally, it was indeed a spy balloon – but it was the Trump Administration’s fault.  The American people deserve better than a political spin job.

The broader issue, though, is that the CCP continues to make broad use of its capabilities to attack and weaken the United States in the face of an American Administration that seems uninterested in actually deterring it.  Whether it’s spy balloons and bases, buying up American farmland near our military facilities, or standing up secret police organizations in American cities to go after people of Chinese descent, the CCP is doing everything it can to gain an advantage in what it clearly sees as a conflict with America that is already underway.

Instead of facing up to this challenge, the Biden Administration is presenting more weakness.  The animating principle of its policies towards China seems to be the pursuit of “engagement,” rather than calling out the CCP for its evils and holding its evildoers accountable.  The spy balloon was shot down months ago, yet no public information has been released for the American people and the world to see.  Why?  It is likely because Biden’s officials fear how Beijing will react.  After all, the Chinese are dictating the relationship with America – only a few weeks ago, Beijing rejected Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempts to engage in a security dialogue, while there have been multiple recent incidents of Chinese aggression that have threatened U.S. military assets.

President Biden’s desperation to get back to the good feelings that followed meetings in Bali late last year have led to far worse relations between our two governments, and it isn’t difficult to understand why.  Instead of creating actual incentives to encourage meetings and negotiation – through sanctions, tariffs, and other actions – the Biden Administration has handed control of the relationship over to the CCP.  By prioritizing engagement and climate change diplomacy over matters that are truly essential to American security, Team Biden has abandoned the fundamental principle of reciprocity.  It has shifted the burden of making concessions almost entirely to the United States.

Hesitance to act in the interests of American security for fear of provoking our adversaries is a losing strategy.  It puts us on our back foot, while handing the advantage to our enemies.  We understood this in the Trump Administration because we understood the importance of clarity when it came to deterrence.  Our adversaries knew the costs they would suffer if they threatened American interests, and they trusted in our resolve to impose them.  We were called reckless warmongers when we undertook decisive actions, like the strike on terrorist and senior Iranian official Qasem Soleimani; but the truth is these actions were necessary not only to protect Americans in the moment, but also to establish a consistent model of deterrence that our adversaries both feared and trusted.  The Biden Administration’s neglect of real deterrence, which began with the debacle in Afghanistan and grew even more with its failure to deter Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, has already greatly increased risk for the American people.  If the Biden Administration can do no more than blame the previous Administration for its own failures, that risk will only continue to increase.

Support the work of the ACLJ as we continue to bring you expert analysis and legal action on the issues that matter most.