Reports of another Chinese spy operation targeting the U.S. are ruffling the feathers of China hawks in Congress.
Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the China, called for the administration to have a stronger reaction to the development.
The Pentagon denied specifics first reported by the Wall Street Journal but confirmed last week that China has been working with Cuba for years to establish a surveillance facility 90 miles away from Florida.
A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the claims.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a press conference on Monday, blamed the Trump administration for inaction and said that the State Department is quietly addressing China’s actions under Biden’s direction.
“Based on the information we have, the [People’s Republic of China] conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019,” Blinken said. “It was our assessment that despite awareness of the basing efforts and some attempts to address the challenge in the past administration, we weren’t making enough progress on this issue, and we needed a more direct approach, and that’s exactly what President Biden instructed his team to do to address the challenge.”
Speaking to Spectrum News, Gallagher accused the Biden administration of deflecting.
“Why is there this attempt to whitewash the Chinese communist party’s aggression?” Gallagher said. “If anything, they should be transparent and say, ‘See, look at what the CCP is trying to do’ in order to galvanize the American people to support policy that’s tougher on China.”
Secretary Blinken is slated to meet with leaders in Beijing next week as part of an effort to thaw icy relations with China.
In response to the reports, Gallagher says he would like to see Blinken call off the trip. He’s also calling Congress to respond more aggressively.
“Another step we can take is to make it impossible for Chinese Communist Party-affiliated entities to buy land near military bases,” Gallagher said. “We could also outbound investment guardrails, putting restrictions on the flow of U.S. capital to China so we can’t subsidize our own destruction.”
In January, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Cali., appointed Gallagher to chair the new House Select Committee on China. The panel does not write legislation but makes policy recommendations.
Last month, it adopted its first set of recommendations to end the mistreatment of Uyghurs in China and protect Taiwan from military conflict.
