China has been transferring military equipment to Cuba, a top US State Department official said Tuesday, acknowledging that the deliveries are a matter of administration concern.
James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, confirmed the activities in response to a question during a hearing of a House International Relations subcommittee.
"We are very much concerned with this PLA [People's Liberation Army] cooperation and movement of military equipment in Cuba," Kelly said. He offered no other details.
Representative Dana Rohrabacher asked Kelly about the China-Cuba military link, basing his question on a report in the Washington Times, which said China was shipping arms and explosives to Cuba.
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker had no comment on the report except to say the administration "has not made a determination that China has transferred lethal military equipment to Cuba."
Under a 1996 amendment, economic sanctions must be imposed against any country that provides lethal equipment to a country on the State Department list of countries alleged to sponsor international terrorism. Cuba has been on that list for years.
The Times said three arms shipments have been sent from China to the Cuban port of Mariel in the last several months. All the arms were aboard vessels belonging to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co, it said, citing US intelligence officials.
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