China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims it has detected American “spy balloons” in China’s airspace without permission 10 times since last year, writes Reuters.
Eight days ago, an American fighter plane shot down a balloon that had been hovering over North America. American authorities believe the balloon was intended for intelligence.
The balloon was shot down six nautical miles off the coast. China, for its part, claimed that the balloon was a civilian weather balloon.
According to Reuters, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs then expressed strong displeasure and opposition to the US using force to attack the balloon. China also reiterated that the balloon was for civilian use and ended up in US airspace by mistake. According to CNN, the head of China’s national weather service was fired as a result of the incident, which state Chinese media should have announced.
Equipped for espionage
Pictures taken by U2 aircraft showed that the Chinese balloon that drifted over the United States last week was equipped for espionage and not weather forecasting, according to a US official.
Detailed images clearly showed that the equipment on the balloon was intended for intelligence, and was not the kind used for weather observations, says an official in the US State Department.
– It had a number of antennas, including antennas designed to collect and geolocate communications. It also had solar panels powerful enough to power a series of sensors for collecting data, he says.
Third flying object
On Sunday evening, the Americans shot down a third flying object.
– The military has neutralized a new object above Lake Huron, wrote congressional politician Jack Bergman on Twitter.
– I appreciate the important effort from our fighter pilots. The American people deserve more answers than we have.
Shortly before midnight, the Pentagon declared the object a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. They confirm that the object flew near sensitive military areas.
Reuters quotes General Glen VanHerck, who has been responsible for the shooting down, as saying that the object was not a physical threat, but that it is unknown what it was.
– They call it “object” and not “balloon” for a reason, he says according to Reuters.
The object ended up on Canadian territory after being shot down.
