US President Joe Biden’s administration said on Monday it could not confirm reports that China collected data via a spy balloon that flew over sensitive military sites earlier this year, adding that it was still analyzing the balloon’s wreckage.
On Monday, NBC News quoted two current senior US officials and a former senior official as saying that the Chinese airship transmitted the data at the time to Beijing, despite the efforts of the US government to prevent it from doing so.
These reports may intensify criticism of Biden by Republicans for waiting until the balloon reached a safe place before shooting it down.
The White House and the Pentagon told reporters they could not confirm this account.
The Pentagon commented that its experts were still analyzing the wreckage of the balloon after it was shot down on the fourth of February.
“I cannot confirm that there was a timely transmission of data from the balloon to China at this time,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, adding, “This is something we are currently analyzing.”
The balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy tool, flew over the United States and Canada for a week before being shot down off the Atlantic coast by the US military on Biden’s orders.
Reuters reported that US officials believe that China controlled the balloon, which flew at a high altitude and was able to maneuver while it was flying over the United States.