Biden now considers ‘action’ over Chinese balloon surveillance program that spanned 40 countries
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U-2 plane detected antennas on a Chinese spy balloon that WERE capable of collecting and transmitting intelligence: Biden now considering ‘action’ on surveillance program that has spread to 40 countries
- A State Department official confirmed Thursday morning that the US believes China is using balloons for a vast network of surveillance around the world.
- The US Air Force shot down one such balloon off the East Coast on Saturday.
- Congress prepares a resolution to condemn China for the raid
Antennas and solar panels were found among the debris recovered from the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean last week, a US official said Thursday.
A new update on the matter from the State Department shows that US intelligence is uncovering a vast Beijing surveillance network that has spanned 40 countries.
Now the US is considering taking “action” against China for what it calls a violation of US sovereignty.
The balloons used in the worldwide operation are capable of “conducting signals intelligence gathering operations,” a senior state official said.
US intelligence links the program directly to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s main military force.
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts into the ocean after being shot down off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, USA, on February 4, 2023.
China’s alleged ‘spy balloon’ that unnerved millions of Americans across the country last week appears to be part of a larger global surveillance scheme by the authoritarian government in Beijing, according to a new report asserted Wednesday.
The official said the United States “will explore taking action against [Chinese government] PLA-linked entities that supported the balloon’s incursion into US airspace.’
‘We will also look at broader efforts to expose and address the [Chinese government’s] broader surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security and to our allies and partners,’ they said.
Air Force planes shot down the balloon that sparked public outrage over Beijing’s spy tactics on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina.
It was first detected crossing US territory on January 28, briefly crossed Canada, and then crossed several states in the continental US before being shot down on February 4.
President Joe Biden gave the order to bring it down on Wednesday of last week, but defense officials warned that it would be safer to do so when the falling debris no longer posed a risk to Americans on the ground.