Florida Senate - 2024 SM 318
By Senator Avila
39-00425-24 2024318__
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the United States Secretary of State
3 urging the secretary to condemn the emerging
4 partnership between the Chinese and Cuban Governments
5 and the establishment of Chinese espionage and
6 military capabilities in Cuba.
7
8 WHEREAS, relations between Cuba and the United States of
9 America have a turbulent past, from the Spanish-American War to
10 Fidel Castro’s rise to power and the Cold War and its aftermath,
11 and
12 WHEREAS, relations between China and the United States have
13 reached a crossroads, as the United States has stepped up
14 efforts to thwart the expansion of Chinese intelligence
15 gathering operations, and
16 WHEREAS, on February 4, 2023, the United States military
17 successfully shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of
18 South Carolina, and
19 WHEREAS, the United States military believes that the
20 balloon was used to intercept electronic signals and to monitor
21 sensitive military sites, and
22 WHEREAS, on June 8, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported
23 that China and Cuba have reached an agreement, in principle, to
24 build an electronic eavesdropping station in Cuba which would
25 result in Cuba’s receipt of billions of dollars from China,
26 although this report has been refuted by the White House, the
27 Cuban Government, and the Chinese Government, and
28 WHEREAS, several days later, an unnamed administration
29 official confirmed that, since 2019, China has been operating a
30 spy base in Cuba as part of a global effort to upgrade its
31 intelligence-gathering capabilities, and
32 WHEREAS, Cuba has a history of opening its doors to nations
33 that are adversarial to the United States in order to undermine
34 our country’s interests, and
35 WHEREAS, China’s willingness to embrace and partner with
36 the Cuban Government, which has historically engaged in
37 espionage against the United States, should be a cause for
38 concern, and
39 WHEREAS, as global tensions have increased, the Chinese
40 Government has sought to build up its military and enhance its
41 technological capability to collect and analyze signals
42 intelligence, and
43 WHEREAS, Dr. Evan Ellis, a Latin American Studies research
44 professor at the United States Army War College, has stated that
45 the establishment of a spy base “accelerates the level of
46 tactical and operational coordination between China and Cuba
47 that can be used in times of war,” and
48 WHEREAS, efforts to foster a partnership between China and
49 Cuba should be condemned in light of Cuba’s history of
50 antagonistic behavior toward the United States as well as the
51 Chinese Government’s willingness to embrace partners that oppose
52 democracy, NOW, THEREFORE,
53
54 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
55
56 That the United States Secretary of State is urged to
57 condemn the Chinese Government for establishing a spy base in
58 Cuba.
59 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
60 State is urged to condemn the Chinese Government for taking
61 increasingly aggressive steps to collect sensitive information
62 regarding the United States Government and its citizens.
63 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
64 State is urged to condemn the Chinese Government for
65 establishing a potential base for Chinese troops a mere 90 miles
66 from the United States, a hostile action that threatens our
67 national security.
68 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
69 copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
70 the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
71 United States House of Representatives, the United States
72 Secretary of State, and each member of the Florida delegation to
73 the United States Congress.