The James Bond hotel at the centre of a spy battle with China

Telegraph

26-05-2025

The white sands and spacious lobby of the British Colonial Hotel in Nassau have twice provided a sumptuous backdrop for James Bond.
Now the iconic hotel is at the centre of a real-life espionage battle as China buys up property and land in the Bahamas, barely 50 miles from the Florida coastline.
China had spent the past two decades mixing economics with geopolitics in the Caribbean, giving it the perfect platform to spy on American space launches, the US embassy, and an underwater warfare facility, said Rear-Adm Peter Brown, former Homeland Security adviser to president Donald Trump.
'The unique geography of the Bahamas poses a special opportunity to the United States, but it also creates risk if the People's Republic of China takes over the best friend role to the government of the Bahamas,' he said.
The Trump administration has taken notice. It sent a warning recently to Caribbean governments to avoid deals that could be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party.
Nowhere is the potential risk more obvious than the British Colonial Hotel, said Adm Brown.
At 100 years old, it is a Nassau landmark.
It was popular with the Duke of Windsor and his wife Wallis Simpson during the Second World War when he was appointed governor of the Bahamas, in part to keep their suspected Nazi sympathies as far from Europe as possible.
If its old world charm and glamorous soirees were good enough for exiled members of the Royal Family, then it was certainly good enough for the very suavest of MI6 agents.
The hotel was dressed up as a casino for the 1965 movie Thunderball, and was used in scenes where Sean Connery took on eyepatch-wearing Emilia Largo at baccarat.
Connery returned to the hotel for 1983's Never Say Never Again. Its private beach was where Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera, waterskis into Bond's arms.
It has been owned by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation since 2014.
Rear Adm Brown said its position, just around the corner from the US embassy, gave it huge strategic importance.
'The hotel kind of commands the high ground with its upper floor, so the ability to electronically surveil not only the embassy itself, but also the people coming and going to and from the embassy and neighbouring businesses, means that diplomatic or governmental interests of the United States are vulnerable,' he said.
The 700 or so islands of the Bahamas are best known to Americans for their golden sands and cocktail spots.
But they occupy a key strategic location on the western edge of the Caribbean. China hawks have long warned that Washington has missed a trick, allowing Beijing to build favour, particularly with aid, grants and investment in the wake of 2019's devastating Hurricane Dorian.
The list of Chinese interests is extensive.
Beijing provided a $40 million grant for construction of a national stadium in 2012.
The state-owned China Export-Import Bank poured $2.5 billion into the Baha Mar resort and casino — with its 2200 rooms and more than 9000 square metres of gaming space.
A $3 billion megaport was built with Chinese money and is operated by a Hong Kong-based company.
It all gives China a ringside seat at US space launches in Florida, said Adm Brown, as well as the US Navy's Atlantic Underwater Testing and Evaluation Center, where submarine captains and crews are put through their paces between three islands of the Bahamas in an area known as the 'Tongue of the Ocean.'
'It has for decades been an important site for us, with submarine and anti-submarine warfare testing, and Chinese entities have purchased properties, including entire islands, in the vicinity of the Tongue of the Ocean,' he said.
The move has not been lost on Washington.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, met prime ministers from seven Caribbean nations earlier this month to warn of the dangers.
'Secretary Rubio urged our partners to make responsible, transparent decisions when selecting vendors and contractors for critical infrastructure projects, ensuring they are not vulnerable to privacy and security risks and exploitation by malign actors like the Chinese Communist Party,' said Tammy Bruce, his spokeswoman.
American officials say cooperation with Caribbean nations help secure the nation's maritime border, as well as tackle drug and people smugglers.
And although Chinese investments might not be made with hostile intent to the US, they could be used for multiple purposes in times of conflict.
'China's predatory tactics have left many countries with excessive debt, undermining their development, stability, and sovereignty,' said a State Department spokesman.
'We will continue to work with The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations to ensure they are aware of the risks associated with accepting Chinese investments.'