The United States government declared today that China operated in several countries a fleet of supposedly spy balloons similar to those that were shot down last week in its territory.
“These balloons are part of a fleet of balloons designed for surveillance operations,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said aboard the presidential Air Force One plane.
In previous years, Chinese balloons have been seen in various countries across five continents.”
Karine Jean-Pierre
China claims it was a rogue weather balloon with no military purpose, but Washington has branded it a high-tech spy operation.
For the American government, however, they would be used by the Chinese government to obtain information about military installations of other countries on five continents, especially in what are called “areas of strategic interest” in the Pacific.
These are regions that have been emerging as possible points of military interest for “enemy” nations. Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines are among these areas.
Downed balloon. On Saturday, after crossing the center of the United States and passing several secret military installations, the balloon headed for the east coast, where a fighter plane shot it down.
According to US officials, measures were taken to prevent the balloon’s instruments from collecting confidential information.
Why balloons? Unlike satellites, balloons fly closer to Earth and often deviate from their paths with wind currents, making them difficult to track. In addition, they can dodge radars and travel at slower speeds than satellites. Thus, a simple camera on a balloon can produce better and theoretically safer images than satellites.
The balloons fly as high as 60,000 feet (about 18 kilometers) upwards, even higher than commercial jets.
The US military also said that balloons like the one shot down last week have already been in US airspace – five during the Trump administration and another two under the Biden administration.
International crisis. The balloon incident caused US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to cancel a diplomatic trip to Beijing.
The Chinese government considered the US reactions — including shooting down the balloon — “exaggerated”.