China’s Dangerous Caribbean Presence

China’s COVID-19 has brought extraordinary danger to the United States, and 2021 may see a different brand of peril.

American Military News reports that “China has been expanding its ties with a number of countries in the Caribbean, increasing its influence right at America’s doorstep.”

Similarly, the New York Times notes that Beijing has increased its burden-laden “loans” to Caribbean nations as part of its aggressive “Belt and Road” campaign. The Times found that the Chinese government invested over $6 billion over 15 years to fund infrastructure projects throughout the Caribbean. Jamaica is a focal point, receiving about $5.1 billion. Since 2005, China has provided over $100 billion in credit to the region. Last year, China announced it would give nearly $35 billion in loans to the region in coming years. And, this year, China promised its investment in the region would hit $250 billion over the next 10 years.

The Congressional Research Service has found that “As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has increased its engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean over nearly 20 years, U.S. policymakers have raised questions regarding potential implications for U.S. interests in the region. China’s engagement with the region has grown significantly since 2001, particularly in terms of diplomatic and economic ties. This growth reflects China’s global ‘soft power’ efforts and ‘influence operations’ worldwide. A succession of Chinese leaders and other officials have visited the region to court governments. In turn, regional leaders and officials have been frequent visitors to China. The PRC has signed a variety of bilateral partnership agreements with several countries in the region, including ‘strategic partnerships’ with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.”

In 2015, China hosted the first-ever China- Community of Latin American and Caribbean States [CELAC] summit in Beijing for Latin American and Caribbean nations. A U.S. Congressional report noted that the conference specifically excluded the U.S. and Canada. Since 2005, China has provided over $100 billion in credit to the region. Last year, China announced it would give nearly $35 billion in loans to the region in coming years. China promised its investment in the region would hit $250 billion over the next 10 years.

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There is a lot more than mere economics going on. Having access to a region right on the U.S. doorstep is a vastly strategic advantage for China. In addition to direct military purposes, buying the loyalty of comparatively small nations is a goal for Beijing as it seeks to gain friends at the United Nations in its campaign to isolate Taiwan.

A Geopolitical Intelligence Services Report reveals that there are Chinese-built container and cruise ship ports on both the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the country.

At a U.S. Congressional Foreign Affairs hearing, it was revealed that Chinese security ties to the region continue to deepen, with the Chinese arms sales to Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina. Reportedly, China has even expanded its arms sales beyond traditional nation-states through providing military-caliber weapons to non-state actors such as the FARC terrorist organization in Colombia and drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. This activity has only served to increase the number of weapons in the hands of paramilitary forces and transnational criminal networks. “It should be of grave concern to all Americans that the Chinese maintain a military presence in Cuba, specifically Lourdes, Bejucal, and Santiago de Cuba, all of which were former Soviet-era monitoring facilities,” it was emphasized.

In 2019 an official Chinese news outlet stated that The Chinese military stands ready to deepen relations with the militaries of the Caribbean countries and Pacific island countries… to strengthen exchanges and cooperation. Guyana was specifically mentioned as seeking to strengthen ties with Beijing’s military.

Photo: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Russia Expanding Aggression

President Putin is using more than one pathway to enter Europe and undermine the West. While most of the world watches the conflict he initiated in Ukraine, the Russian government is actively pursuing a second front in a little noticed campaign in Cyprus. Although the corrupt Cypriot government ended its issuance of “golden passports” in 2020, Russian intelligence is functioning quietly there to transform this EU country into a Russian beachhead of illicit economic activity aimed at penetrating the capitalist West, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. Cyprus is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nor does it receive as much attention as those countries who are member states. That adds to its allure as a prime location for Russia to attempt to gain a European foothold. Last week a NATO report, cited in the European Daily Monitor, noted that Russian intelligence agents have been plotting to destroy European infrastructure across the continent to disrupt states supporting Ukraine. It further suggests that Putin’s immediate goal is to lay the framework for a future move against the security organization’s members. Hungary, in particular, is another country garnering Moscow’s attention as it opposes the Western response to Russian aggression. Russia is focusing its intelligence efforts on other European, non-NATO member countries in addition to Cyprus, including Austria, Malta, and Ireland. The NATO report suggests that Moscow has had success in disseminating the Russian political narrative in these states to advance its campaign against the West. The island of Cyprus is proving to be a good target for Moscow as it is an ethnically divided island that is part of the EU since 2004. Northern Cyprus, officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that is only recognized by Turkey. The division precludes it from joining NATO. As Goble suggests, “it offers Russia troubled waters in which to fish.” Over the last 20 years, he points out, Cyprus’ challenges have opened it to a massive influx of Russian citizens, who now comprise approximately 10 percent of the island state’s population. Over 2,900 residents are Russians who entered until the “golden passport” program that allowed wealthy or well-connected Russians to move to Cyprus. It also provided them with documentation to travel freely throughout Europe! Although less visible on the world’s radar than the war in Ukraine, Moscow is also being helped by Cyprus’ banks opposition to seizing Russian assets and its support in evading Western sanctions. Russia has placed tens of billions of US Dollars there for money laundering. It has been more than two years since a single Russian “diplomat” has been deported and, in fact, the Embassy has grown to over 300 staffers on this tiny island state of only 1.2 million people. The Russian embassy in Nicosia has advanced communications antennae on its roof and opened a consulate on the northern end of the island. Moscow’s Ambassador, Mura Zyazikov, is a lieutenant general in the FSB with no diplomatic experience. The FSB, SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and GRU are actively using the island as a base of operations against NATO Member states, Israel, and other Western allies. Moscow backs pro-Russian political parties who in turn influence Cypriot decisions on education, language, and other issues. “Dmitry Khmelnitsky of the Dossier Center says that its findings should be of concern not only to Cyprus but to the West as a whole. Those who ignore what Moscow is doing because Cyprus does not follow the EU sanctions regime are missing something critical,” says Goble. “Cyprus does not seek to get rid of Russian agents and does not interfere with their work,” Khmelnitsky concludes, “despite the fact that what the Kremlin is doing is so clearly visible.” This has an impact not only on the small island but on the EU, NATO, and the West in general. Earlier this year the Moscow Times reported that when the FBI became more interested in Russian business and oligarchs in Cyprus, at least 10 of the major Russian businesses operating there left. Despite the government of Cyprus’ vow to implement plans for new sanctions against Russia, it continues to ignore Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and to shield the wealth of the 50,000 wealthy Russian citizens and oligarchs residing there. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay