Cuba added to Chinese delegation's American tour itinerary

• Staff Reporter
 
• 2015-06-10
 
• 13:03 (GMT+8)

Two young men who own a private bakery in Cuba wait for a taxi after buying eggs from a state-owned shop in Havana, February 2014. (Photo/CFP)

China's Ministry of National Defense stated on June 8 that in response to an invitation from the US secretary of defense, Ashton Carter, and the minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, Leopoldo Cintra Frias, the deputy chair of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) Fan Changlong would lead a delegation on a trip departing Beijing June 8 which will include friendly official visits to both the US and Cuba, according to Duowei News, a media outlet run by overseas Chinese.

The delegation includes the deputy head of the PLA General Staff Department, Sun Jianguo, the deputy head of the PLA General Political Department, Wu Changde, and the commander of the Beijing Military Region, Song Puxuan.

The US Army has already released details of Fan's US trip through the military news web portal Defense News. The addition of Cuba to the itinerary however provides food for thought, according to Duowei.

The start of a process to normalize relations between the US and Cuba was announced at the end of last year. At the time the move to engage with a Russian ally was seen as a targeted blow at Moscow in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and also threw a spanner in the works of China's plan to permanently station a destroyer in Cuba. On June 2, the Chinese ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, stated that the Fan would visit the US. It was not until the day the delegation was scheduled to depart, June 8, however, that it was revealed that Cuba was also on the itinerary, said the website.

Fan's Cuba visit is likely aimed at restoring stability to relations between the two countries, given the perceived slight to Beijing at the end of 2014 with the rapprochement with the US and the rescinding of the offer to allow a Chinese warship to be stationed there.

The thaw in US-Cuba relations is set to put an end to over half a century of enmity. Although the international community has welcomed the normalization of relations and China has actively pushed for an end to what it calls a Cold War mentality in international politics, China and Russia are likely a little concerned about the move, said Duowei.

In July 2014, Russia had already signed an agreement with Cuba to reopen an old Soviet wireless listening post in Havana. The post was first established in 1964, two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is located in the south of Havana, around 250 kilometers from the US and was considered the largest Soviet secret military base overseas with a staff of around 3,000. The base could monitor communications from US submarines, ships and satellites. However, now the Russian monitoring station in the US backyard seems destined to remain shuttered, just as the proposal for the Chinese destroyer seems to be shelved.

In 2012, Cuba proposed the idea of the PLA travelling to the Caribbean Sea to engage in joint military and search and rescue exercises. Visiting Cuba in July last year, President Xi Jinping agreed to send a warship and the two sides also agreed on a plan to permanently station a Chinese destroyer in a Cuban port.

However, as the negotiations were entering the substantive phase, Cuba had a sudden shift in attitude. In the spring of 2013, President Barack Obama of the US sent two high-ranking aides to engage in trial talks with the Cuban government. After reaching a series of consensuses, more senior officials took over the talks. It was in the course of these 18 months of secret negotiations that the Chinese warship plan was rescinded. Relations with China were sacrificed for the diplomatic breakthrough with the US, Duowei said.

This has cast a shadow over China-Cuba relations, so the Fan visit is likely aimed at attempting to salvage ties. Since assuming office, Xi has placed emphasis on relations with Latin America and Fan will likely be aiming to ensure the future of China's plans for the region. The Cuba visit is also likely an attempt by China to show the US that it will not back down on having a role in the region.

On his ongoing visit to the US, Fan will hammer out the details of the US-China strategic and economic talks set to be held at the end of June, as well as paving the way for Xi's September visit.

References:

Fan Changlong 范長龍

Sun Jianguo 孫建國

Wu Changde 吳昌德

Song Puxuan 宋普選

Cui Tiankai 崔天凱

Xi Jinping 習近平