The US Insists the Chinese Balloon was military
The United States (US) intelligence sources have insisted that the balloon shot down on Saturday was used by the military of the People’s Republic of China for spying.
According to unnamed officials, such balloons were used to collect intelligence on strategically important countries. They include Japan, India, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
An official told the Washington Post that the US intelligence community believed that the balloon was employed for espionage by the Chinese military. US intelligence reportedly said that some of the balloons were launched from Hainan, a southern Chinese island.
Quoting an unnamed senior official from the Joe Biden administration, sources confirmed to CBS News that the US intelligence community believed the balloon was part of an “aerial surveillance program run by the People’s Liberation Army out of Hainan”. The sources told CNN that the surveillance program conducted at least two dozen missions over at least five continents in recent years.
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On Saturday, the US military shot down a surveillance craft of China floating over sensitive installations. On Monday, the US briefed its friends and allies, including India about the Chinese surveillance balloon. Wendy Sherman, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, briefed 40 allied countries about the alleged espionage. She also revealed that one balloon had circumnavigated the planet in 2019.
The Gang of Eight, a group of US Congressional leaders responsible for overseeing national intelligence matters, was briefed about the Chinese balloon on Wednesday. The Congress will be updated about the development on Thursday.
Last week, the Pentagon, the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, revealed that a second Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Costa Rica and Venezuela.
This incident has caused a diplomatic row between the US and China. The US Fleet Forces Command also posted several photos of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon on its Facebook page.
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