The US military shot down the Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina. Beijing has confirmed that it declined a Pentagon appeal.
The Chinese spy balloon shot down on Saturday by the American air force had, according to Washington, electronic interception equipment capable of monitoring communications. High-resolution images taken during its flight over US territory by U-2 surveillance planes revealed that the balloon was capable “conduct intelligence-gathering operations by intercepting electromagnetic communications“, According to a senior official of the State Department quoted by the American media.
“Its equipment was clearly intended for an intelligence mission and did not correspond to that carried on board weather balloons. It featured multiple antennas, likely capable of picking up and geolocating communications. It was equipped with solar panels large enough to produce the energy needed to operate several active intelligence-gathering sensors.“, he specified.
The United States also say they succeeded in preventing the balloon from intercepting their communications. “We were able to follow the exact trajectory of the ball and ensure that no unencrypted sensitive activity or communication would be conducted in its vicinity.said the senior administration official. “We took immediate action to protect against the balloon collecting sensitive information, thereby mitigating any intelligence value to China.“.
Eequipped with spy tools
According to the Americans, far from being a one-off and isolated mission, the flight of the spy balloon over their territory was part of a large operation conducted over “more than 40 countries on five continents“. Popular China would have a fleet of spy balloons designed for this type of mission. “We know that these balloons are all part of a fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations. This type of activity is often undertaken under the leadership of the People’s Liberation Armyexplained the senior State Department official.
“The balloon manufacturer maintains direct relations with the Chinese army, of which it is an approved supplier“added the official, noting that”the company also advertises balloons on its website, with videos of previous flights, which appear to have been taken in the airspace of the United States and other countries“. And to clarify:As in the case of the second balloon over Central and South America which they have just admitted to exist, they also have no explanation for the violation of the airspace of these countries in Central and South America“.
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The balloon wreckage recovery operation is underway along the coast of South Carolina continues, and the collected equipment is analyzed by the FBI. “We are getting more and more information by the hour as we refloat the wreckage of the balloonsaid Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a joint press conference with the Secretary General of NATO. “We learn from that, as well as from what we saw and heard as the balloon crossed the United States. As to who is responsible for this incident, it is China… which engaged in this irresponsible action, a violation of our sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law. And we are not the only ones in this case. Countries on five continents have also seen surveillance balloons fly over their territory, so we are sharing this information with others. We continue to expect China to act responsibly and help us manage this relationship responsibly.“.
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