1 month ago
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Image source, US Fleet Forces Command
By Antoinette Radford
BBC News
US quality sources person insisted the balloon changeable down connected Saturday was utilized by the Chinese subject for spying.
Unnamed officials told the Washington Post they believed specified balloons were utilized to cod quality connected strategically applicable countries.
Japan, India, Taiwan and the Philippines were among those countries.
Chinese officials person already denied utilizing specified balloons for surveillance.
An authoritative told the Washington Post that the US quality assemblage believed immoderate of the balloons were being flown from Hainan, a confederate Chinese land that is location to a naval subject base.
Quoting an unnamed elder Biden medication official, CBS News confirmed that the US quality assemblage believed the balloon was part, successful its words, of an "aerial surveillance programme tally by the People's Liberation Army retired of Hainan".
On Monday, the US briefed 40 allied countries astir the alleged espionage, a elder Biden medication official confirmed to CBS News.
In that briefing, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman besides revealed 1 balloon had circumnavigated the satellite successful 2019, travelling implicit Hawaii and Florida.
According to the Biden medication official, a radical of US Congressional leaders liable for overseeing nationalist quality matters, known arsenic the Gang of Eight, volition beryllium briefed connected the improvement connected Wednesday, and Congress volition beryllium updated connected Thursday,
Video appears to amusement China balloon changeable down
Last week, the Pentagon said a 2nd Chinese spy balloon had been spotted implicit Costa Rica and Venezuela.
The find of alleged spy balloons has caused a diplomatic enactment betwixt the US and China.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a travel to Beijing, acceptable to instrumentality spot conscionable a fewer days aft the balloon was archetypal detected. It would person been the archetypal gathering of its benignant betwixt the 2 countries successful years.
"This is an unacceptable arsenic good arsenic an irresponsible action," helium said. "It's adjacent much irresponsible coming connected the eve of a long-planned visit."
US defence officials person antecedently said astatine slightest 3 suspected Chinese spy balloons flew implicit the state during Donald Trump's presidency.
And according to US officials, the balloon changeable down had flown implicit Alaska and Canada earlier appearing successful the US authorities of Montana, which is location to a fig of delicate atomic rocket sites.
It was believed to person been astir 200ft (60m) gangly and officials said the debris dispersed implicit 7 miles (11km) of Atlantic ocean.
English (US) ·