Retired Defense Intelligence Agency counterintelligence research chief Chris Simmons confirmed shocking allegations that China has a secret spy base in Cuba to the Miami Herald on Wednesday.

Simmons stated that, "We saw the enhancements over a decade, a steady evolution; clearly something was going on, but we didn’t know what. And then, in 2001, we discovered that the Chinese had been there already for nine years. We were told at that time that when the Chinese arrived in 1992, they were embedded in a single building within Bejucal, and they were 50 officers in this facility."

Apparently China saw an opportunity to forge closer ties with Cuba following the collapse of the Soviets and they have been operating in Cuba for decades.

The White House denied these allegations since they first surfaced but it appears that the secret is out and China has been using its Cuba base to intercept sensitive communications.

Underestimating China

Simmons time frame matches up with the other geopolitical factors that led to China's rise. While the Soviet Union was collapsing, the administration of President George H.W. Bush was pushing for better ties with China despite its brutal authoritarianism.

Bush pushed for expanding commercial ties with China leading to their economic rise and arguably, the downfall of American manufacturing.

It seems that China took advantage of this and established ties with Cuba. Cuba's proximity to the United States along with a friendly regime made it a fantastic location for an intelligence gathering operation.

But it seems that China was underestimated and it has been in Washington's interests to keep news of Chinese spy bases away from the public.

The Wall Street Journal reported, "Officials familiar with the matter said that China has agreed to pay cash-strapped Cuba several billion dollars to allow it to build the eavesdropping station, and that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle. Officials declined to provide more details about the proposed location of the listening station or whether construction had begun."

The White House's denial of this story may not be inaccurate, they are just likely hiding the bigger story. Simmons makes it sound like China has already been in Cuba for decades and this latest story is likely China expanding their already existing operation.

Biden's weakness

President Joe Biden has been pathetically weak but he hasn't been the only President who has been too weak on China. Biden's foreign policy is actually in line with nearly every recent President outside of former President Donald Trump.

China has become especially bold since Biden was sworn in as President as they flew multiple spy balloons over nuclear sites in the United States.

Such a brazen violation of our airspace seemed unthinkable years ago, but thanks to President Biden, China doesn't seem to fear us anymore.

Of course, the Biden administration has done everything in its power to shut this story down. White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby called the publishing of the story, “shameful." What should be more shameful is that the Biden administration is emboldening our greatest enemy.