| The developing Cuban crisis
Frederick W. Stakelbeck, Jr. The
Amercian Thinker, April 8th, 2005. Over forty years after the
Cuban Missile Crisis, America once again finds itself in the crosshairs of a determined,
Cuban-based adversary possessing the capability to inflict incalculable damage
to U.S. democracy efforts and regional stability. That adversary is China. For
two decades, Soviet defense, economic and intelligence assistance allowed Fidel
Castro's Cuba to project its own brand of Stalinist totalitarianism throughout
Latin America infesting countries such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Chile. Castro's dream of leading a new Latin American empire ended abruptly in
the early 1990's with the fall of the Soviet Union, sending the island nation
into a catastrophic, decade-long economic freefall. Recognizing an opportunity
for a permanent base of influence and operations in the Western Hemisphere, China
has stepped into the void caused by the Soviet collapse to embrace Castro, giving
the Cuban leader a second chance to secure a place among the world's communist
immortals. Castro's fondness of China is well-known. In fact, Cuba was the
first Latin American country to establish relations with China in 1961. Since
that time, Cuba and China have attempted to balance domestic economic expansion
with a strong, central control of the political process. As a result, natural
synergies have emerged allowing the two countries to develop a mutually beneficial
relationship in the areas of defense, finance, education, energy, intelligence,
science, and telecommunications. The bilateral relationship has grown in
both its diversity and intensity recently, heightened by Cuba and China's mutual
disdain for what they see as America's global hegemony and intrusiveness. Their
joint, anti-democracy stance was further solidified in March when Cuba's Foreign
Ministry Office issued a statement supporting the "one China" principle
and the Chinese anti-secession law. Recent diplomatic overtures and a renewed
commitment to the Castro government make it clear that China views Cuba as a valuable
ally moving forward. In November 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao and 200 Chinese
businesspersons took part in the China Investment and Trade Forum in Havana. As
a result of this increased economic cooperation, China has become the island's
third largest trading partner behind only Venezuela and Spain. This, as Chinese
President Hu Jintao reaffirmed his country's commitment to Latin America by announcing
an astounding $100 billion investment in the region in the next decade.
But
China's primary interest in Cuba is not related to commerce. Rather, the country
is interested in fostering defense ties with the island and developing a state-of-the-art
intelligence infrastructure to monitor U.S. activities in the region. Intelligence
and spying, not Cuban cigars and sugar cane, motivates Beijing. Since the
late 1990's, independent Cuban journalists have reported an increasing number
of Chinese diplomats, scientists, engineers, and military advisors arriving in
Cuba. As a result, the Cuban Chinese community now makes up 1 percent of the island's
total population of 11.3 million people. In the face of an increasing Chinese
presence only 90 miles off the Florida coast, the question remains: Will Fidel
Castro become a conduit for Chinese expansionist aspirations in the region setting
the stage for another confrontation with the U.S.? Given Cuba's dismal economic
condition, Castro's deteriorating health, and a consensus within the Cuban government
that China offers a formidable ally against American regional authority and control
- the answer is increasingly yes. When considering the possibility of another
confrontation with Cuba, it is important to remember that Fidel Castro is the
same man who in 1962 pleaded with the Soviet Union to initiate a nuclear attack
on the U.S. He is directly responsible for a Latin American communist insurgency
that has resulted in regional destabilization and illegal immigration over America's
southern border. After coming to power, he nationalized billions of dollars worth
of American property without compensation to its owners. His clandestine support
of Latin American drug smugglers and trafficking is well known. In March,
Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Alberto Moreno took a page out of Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez's book of socialist paranoia by stating, "U.S. officials
are publicly speaking of regime change in Cuba. They were already attacking us
as sponsors of terrorism. Now we are told we are an outpost of tyranny. We do
not discount the possibility of military action." These are merely
diversionary comments designed to conceal illicit or subversive actions on the
part of both China and Cuba. Both countries are working together to penetrate
U.S. intelligence, collect classified information on U.S. ports and navel assets,
and secure information on the latest U.S. science and technology. China and Cuba
have increased their cooperation in the areas of cyber-terrorism, biological and
chemical weapons research and development, and missile capabilities. In addition,
China's use of the Bejucal base in Cuba, as well as facilities in Wajay and Santiago
de Cuba, pose a growing threat to U.S. national security. There is little
doubt that a sophisticated and well-integrated Chinese defense and intelligence
infrastructure is being built in America's backyard. To combat this growing threat,
the current U.S. embargo, first initiated in 1960, that applies to all goods,
excluding medicine, medical products and agricultural commodities, should remain
firmly in place. The policy of U.S. agricultural companies trading with Cuba on
a cash only basis prior to delivery should also continue, as well as the ongoing
policy restricting travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba. In the face of international
pressure, comprehensive U.S. legislative action such as the Cuban Democracy Act,
which prohibits foreign-based subsidiaries of U.S. companies from trading with
Cuba, and the Helms-Burton Act, which denies certain visas and gives American
citizens the right to sue foreign investors, should be continued and strengthened.
In addition, a "Cuban Contingency Plan" should be formulated to counter
any increased defense and intelligence activities initiated by Cuba which may
involve hostile, non-hemispheric foreign powers such as China. Moreover,
bulk carriers and transports offloading at Cuban ports should be closely monitored
for offensive or intelligence-oriented contraband including: advanced satellite
communications and jamming equipment, missiles and their components, mobile launch
platforms, sophisticated military hardware, and tracking devices. It is
no coincidence that China is positioning itself in the Gulf of Mexico, Panamanian
Peninsula, Canada's British Columbia, and Venezuela. It is also no coincidence
that the Chinese are spending billions of dollars to upgrade antiquated Soviet
military facilities in Cuba. Not surprisingly, escalating Chinese economic involvement
in Latin America since the 1990's has brought with it a resurgence of socialist
behavior and empathy. Recent actions by the Chinese in the Western Hemisphere
are designed to secure state-sponsored outposts at strategic "choke"
points that one day can be used by Beijing to place acute pressure on the U.S.
and its allies. In this regard, recent comments made by Chinese sympathizers such
as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez that a "new geopolitical map of alliances is emerging"
support a troubling trend of inflammatory comments by Latin leaders. Otto Reich,
a Cuban-born U.S. diplomat under the first President Bush stated in March, "The
U.S. needs a secure and prosperous hemisphere not only to ensure a peaceful neighborhood
in which to live, but also to be able to project its power to the farthest reaches
of the globe." Fidel Castro is an increasingly isolated man frustrated
by a communist strategy that has produced 40 years of suffering for the Cuban
people. As his years as president wind down, he is seeking to solidify his socialist
legacy. What better way to achieve this goal than by playing one final cruel joke
on America by allowing communist China unrestricted access to the Western Hemisphere?
One final question for Washington. If an aggressive, Cold War-era Soviet
Union made bilateral defense agreements with countries in Latin America; purchased
large quantities of vital raw materials from Canada; obtained vast amounts of
crude oil from Venezuela; and established ports in Cuba and Panama, would America
have stood by and watched? Frederick W. Stakelbeck, Jr. is a freelance
journalist based in Philadelphia. | 
