Florida Senate - 2024                                     SM 540
       
       
        
       By Senator Avila
       
       
       
       
       
       39-00825-24                                            2024540__
    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 Communist Party and
    5         the communist regime in Cuba and the establishment of
    6         Chinese espionage and military capabilities in Cuba.
    7  
    8         WHEREAS, on February 4, 2023, the United States military
    9  shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast, and
   10         WHEREAS, the United States military affirmed that the
   11  balloon was used to intercept electronic signals and to monitor
   12  sensitive military sites, and
   13         WHEREAS, on June 8, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported
   14  that China and Cuba have reached an agreement, in principle, to
   15  build an electronic eavesdropping station in Cuba, which would
   16  result in Cuba’s receipt of billions of dollars from China, and
   17         WHEREAS, several days later, an unnamed administration
   18  official confirmed that, since 2019, China has been operating a
   19  spy base in Cuba as part of a global effort to upgrade its
   20  intelligence-gathering capabilities, and
   21         WHEREAS, the communist regime in Cuba has a history of
   22  opening its doors to nations adversarial to the United States in
   23  order to undermine our country’s national security interests,
   24  and
   25         WHEREAS, China’s willingness to embrace and partner with
   26  the Cuban dictatorship, which has historically engaged in
   27  espionage against the United States, should be a cause for
   28  concern, and
   29         WHEREAS, as global tensions have increased, the Chinese
   30  Government has sought to build up its military and develop more
   31  sophisticated technological capabilities to collect and analyze
   32  signals intelligence, and
   33         WHEREAS, Dr. Evan Ellis, a Latin American Studies research
   34  professor at the United States Army War College, opines that the
   35  establishment of a spy base “accelerates the level of tactical
   36  and operational coordination between China and Cuba that can be
   37  used in times of war,” and
   38         WHEREAS, efforts to foster a partnership between China and
   39  Cuba should be condemned in light of Cuba’s history of
   40  antagonistic behavior toward the United States and Communist
   41  China’s willingness to embrace partners that oppose democracy,
   42  NOW, THEREFORE,
   43  
   44  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   45  
   46         That the United States Secretary of State is urged to
   47  condemn the emerging partnership between the Chinese Communist
   48  Party and the communist regime in Cuba and the establishment of
   49  Chinese espionage and military capabilities in Cuba.
   50         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
   51  State is urged to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for taking
   52  steps to collect sensitive information regarding the United
   53  States Government and its citizens.
   54         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
   55  State is urged to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for
   56  establishing a potential base for the Chinese Communist Party’s
   57  military and intelligence services a mere 90 miles from the
   58  United States, an aggressive action that threatens our national
   59  security.
   60         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
   61  copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
   62  the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
   63  United States House of Representatives, the United States
   64  Secretary of State, and each member of the Florida delegation to
   65  the United States Congress.