Recently leaked documents revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using its overseas expansion project, the Belt and Road Initiative, to establish a Chinese-managed economic zone on a Caribbean island just 220 miles off the coast of the US Virgin Islands. This once pristine island paradise has now been transformed into a CCP colony.
According to a report from Newsweek on Friday, the media outlet investigated documents leaked from CCP authorities and enterprises, conducting interviews with leaders and stakeholders in the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda, a small island nation in Central America, is set to develop a 1600-acre piece of land and marine protected area into a special economic zone operated by Chinese officials.
Documents reviewed by Newsweek indicate that the Special Economic Zone (Antigua & Barbuda) Holdings Ltd has been granted extensive privileges resembling that of a small sovereign nation on the northeast corner of Antigua, adjacent to the island’s largest military base – a former US military facility.
Under the terms of a permit issued by the local government in 2024, SEZH will establish an independent zone management committee with its own customs, police force, and immigration procedures, with the authority to issue passports. The area will include a shipping port, a dedicated airline, and various businesses ranging from logistics to cryptocurrency, cosmetic surgery to virus-related medical products.
Commercial activities in the economic zone will be unrestricted – permits will be issued by the committee rather than the Antiguan government, with zero taxes, client and asset confidentiality.
The CCP, along with its state-owned and related private enterprises, are rapidly expanding into Antigua and Barbuda and other Caribbean nations in what has long been referred to as America’s “Third Border” strategic region. The CCP’s growing regional influence poses the biggest external challenge to the US in the Americas, causing concerns in the US military.
A spokesperson from the US Southern Command based in Florida told Newsweek, “We recognize that China could potentially use their commercial and diplomatic presence for military purposes. In Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, China has already abused commercial agreements at host country ports for military purposes. Our concern is that they may do the same in this region.”
Critics point out that hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and grants from the CCP, along with massive infrastructural developments in key facilities like ports, airports, and water systems by CCP state-owned enterprises, are transforming a region once considered part of America’s “backyard” into the CCP’s front yard.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua praised China and CCP leader Xi Jinping during an interview with Newsweek in the capital city of St. John’s, which has a population of only 97,000 people and covers an area of 170 square miles, similar in size to New York City’s Queens borough.
Browne expressed frustration that Western countries did not provide the necessary aid to Antigua, leading his government officials to frequently study Xi Jinping thought. Analysts point out that the CCP’s growing influence in the Caribbean region poses a unique challenge to the US.
Political science professor Anne-Marie Brady from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand said, “This is a bold move. The Caribbean is a highly strategic geographic region for the United States.”
Antigua, once a British colony built partly on a foundation of slavery, has some locals feeling uneasy about the CCP’s increasing influence in the country. While Antigua remains a constitutional monarchy with King Charles as the head of state, a referendum is being planned to decide whether to alter this arrangement.
Chairperson of the Antigua Labour Party, Gisele Isaac, expressed concerns about the government’s overreliance on the CCP, stating, “I think most of us believe that Antigua has ceded its sovereignty to China.”
Local opposition legislator and radio show host Algernon Watts echoed similar concerns, saying, “In the Caribbean, it’s all about money.”
Antigua’s branch of the University of the West Indies hosts a Confucius Institute, while the CCP offers coveted scholarships. Approximately 88 Antiguan students are studying at universities in China.
Antigua joined the CCP’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in 2018, being among the first batch of about 6 Caribbean countries to do so.
Diplomats from Europe and Asia suspect that the CCP’s interests in Antigua go beyond economic benefits.
The new CCP embassy in St. John’s is referred to by locals as a “fortress” due to its imposing size and tight security. Two unnamed regional diplomats suspect the embassy is being used as an intelligence base or listening post, given the installation of over thirty surveillance cameras and four layers of wire fences on the five-acre compound purchased by the CCP from the Antiguan government for 1 dollar.
A spokesperson from the US Southern Command told Newsweek, “Given China’s broad investment in logistics infrastructure in the Caribbean region, we are concerned that China may direct its state-owned enterprises and expatriates for intelligence or influence activities against the US and our partners in the region. These concerns are exacerbated if one understands how the Chinese Communist Party targets, recruits, and bribes officials.”
One significant reason for the CCP’s intensified influence is to further isolate Taiwan. Of the 12 countries that recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty, 7 are in the Caribbean and Latin America. Each country has a vote in the United Nations, and the CCP seeks support for its policies in the UN.
A diplomat from a neighboring country revealed that CCP diplomats at the Antigua embassy regularly engage with officials from Caribbean countries connected to Taipei.
In contrast to the CCP’s robust operations in Antigua, the US closed its embassy in 1994, relocating it over 300 miles away to Barbados, requiring over an hour’s flight from Antigua. Currently, the US only maintains a consular agency in Antigua.
The US State Department stated in an email to Newsweek that it plans to expand its diplomatic footprint in the Caribbean region.
The statement disclosed that the Biden administration has begun establishing two new embassies and an additional diplomatic support facility in the eastern Caribbean, without specifying the exact locations and timeline.