After reports that the US Defense Department, the Pentagon, was reviewing options for possible military aggression against Cuba, China has called on Washington to stop military threats and unilateral sanctions.
On Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was watching the whole matter closely and had already made its position clear. “China will firmly stand against external interference in Cuba and in defence of its national sovereignty,” she said, adding that Beijing would work with all sides to uphold international justice and fairness.
China’s statement came mainly after a report by the US network CBS News that top US defence officials had reviewed several outlines for a military operation in Cuba, including a plan for an air assault using thousands of troops from the 101st Airborne Division. The report said the US military held a preliminary meeting late in June to assess a possible operation, troop requirements, logistics and risks. US officials stressed, however, that President Donald Trump had not approved any such attack and that no final decision had been made.
The draft options emerged as Washington increased pressure on Havana, even though the US military’s attention and logistics are tied up in the Iran war. Officials said moving warplanes, surveillance platforms and other military equipment to the area was quite difficult at present; the Pentagon declined to comment directly on hypothetical or possible operations. The Associated Press separately reported that no immediate attack was being prepared, but that the military option remained in the US draft and that Trump could change his position at any time.
Drawing up such explicit military options at the military level, rather than stopping at rhetoric, has sharply raised tensions. Trump has hinted several times that Cuba could be the next US target after Venezuela and Iran, declaring in March, “The next target is Cuba.” He suggested taking control of the island in a friendly way but later added that “it may not be friendly,” and even proposed deploying a US aircraft carrier near Cuba to force its top leadership to surrender. In June, during a visit to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a stern warning to Havana not to acquire any weapons capable of hitting the US mainland or bases, saying that doing so would create a conflict Cuba was not capable of handling.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report