U.S. won't confirm allegations, which cite intelligence officials
By Nancy San Martin And Jane Bussey. nsanmartin@herald.com.
Published Wednesday, June 13, 2001
U.S. officials on Tuesday refused to confirm reports that China has made
several secret shipments of arms and explosives to Cuba, but a local expert who
has studied the issue said such reports should be taken seriously.
"China is trying to get into the same position that Russia wanted in
Latin America and it's using Cuba for that. It's a real threat,'' said Manuel
Cereijo, a recently retired professor of electronic engineering at Florida
International University who has written several studies on Cuba-China
relations. "They want to be a superpower and have a hand in the Western
Hemisphere.''
THREE SHIPMENTS
At least three arms shipments were traced from China to the Cuban port of
Mariel during the past several months, according to an article Tuesday in the
Washington Times. All the arms were aboard vessels belonging to the state-owned
China Ocean Shipping Co., or Cosco, U.S. intelligence officials told the
newspaper.
The explosives were said to be "military-grade'' material, the
newspaper said.
U.S. officials said Tuesday that the subject of arms trafficking between
China and Cuba is a worrisome one, though they stopped short of confirming the
Washington Times account.
"We are very much concerned with this PLA [People's Liberation Army]
cooperation and movement of military equipment in Cuba,'' said James Kelly,
assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, when questioned during a
hearing of the House International Relations subcommittee.
ECONOMIC SANCTIONS?
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker would not comment on what he called
an "intelligence matter,'' but added: "I can say we have not made a
determination that China has transferred lethal military equipment to Cuba.''
The shipments, if confirmed, could lead to the imposition of economic
sanctions on China and Cosco, U.S. officials said.
"There is a U.S. law that prohibits providing various types of
assistance to foreign governments that have provided 'lethal military equipment'
to a country whose government is a state sponsor of terrorism,'' Reeker said. "We
fully and faithfully implement the requirements of U.S. law and would take any
actions required by those laws, were we to determine that sanctionable activity
had occurred.''
Cuba is among at least seven countries on the State Department's list of
nations designated as supporters of global terrorism. Officials from the Cuban
government could not be reached for comment.
Cereijo, the electronic engineering professor, said China and Cuba are
cooperating on an array of military and intelligence matters.
Cereijo, whose studies are based on interviews with numerous Cuban engineers
and scientists who have either visited the United States or defected, said that
Chinese personnel have been working out of the Bejucal listening post in Havana
province since March 1999. The post is believed to be capable of both
eavesdropping and "cyber-warfare.''
"The United States knows that this is happening,'' Cereijo said.
Cosco, the shipping company, has been linked in the past to illegal
smuggling and international arms trafficking.
"The U.S. government has documented a number of weapons proliferation
cases where the vehicles were Cosco ships,'' said Al Santoli, a national
security aide to Rep. Dana Rorhabacher, R-Calif.
"There is no doubt that Cosco is a self-sustaining merchant marine and
business conduit for the People's Liberation Army,'' Santoli said, noting that
China has strengthened its military ties with Venezuela and Cuba.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 