The Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States and which Washington shot down when it was already suspended above the Atlantic Ocean continues straining relations between the two powers. Now, authorities have revealed details of the political plot Behind the diplomatic conflict: an unanswered appeal from Beijing, serious accusations from the White House and an operation on the verge of danger.
The aircraft device – which carried sophisticated equipment inside was sighted in Montana, in the last hours of March.
After days of uncertainty and suspicions, finally Saturday 4 February a missile fired from an F-22 aircraft knocked it down off the coast of South Carolina, after passing northwest-southeast United States Territory and passing on various secret military installations.
“The balloon, used by the People’s Republic of China in an attempt to do so monitor strategic sites in the continental United States, was shot down over US territorial waters,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed at the time.
what came next aggravated the constraint among the giants
“China expresses its strong discontent and protest against the use of force by the United States to attack a civilian unmanned aircraft”, was the first issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The crash was even forced suspend a tour by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the first by a US secretary since Mike Pompeo visited Xi Jinping in June 2018, at the time of Donald Trump.
Now the details of the conflict caused by the Chinese surveillance balloon and suspicions increased of the United States on the Asian giant for the plan which, they say in Washington, They have been deployed for years on five continents. Thus they indicate a a Chinese global surveillance plan.
“This is a program that the Chinese have been working on for several years. They (the Chinese) have been trying to improve it, grow it and enhance it, all with the aim of obtain intelligence information“John Kirby, a White House spokesman, said Wednesday.
He added: “The United States is not the only nation that has been affected. And we believe it is important that our partners and allies have information about it.”
In recent years, these “spy devices” have been spotted various countries on five continents“, the spokesperson revealed.
Joe Biden himself referred to the conflict in his State of the Union address, which he delivered to Congress this Tuesday. “Make no mistake. As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country,” said the president, who has been heavily criticized by Republicans. They disputed his alleged condescension for waiting until the balloon was above the sea to shoot it down.
The call that China did not answer
China insists the balloon was conduct meteorological research, but the Pentagon has described it as a high-tech spy operation. In this sense, the United States claims to have taken measures to prevent the balloon’s instruments from collecting confidential information during its flight.
The operation to take down the device included extreme security measures and the United States tried to establish communication with China after turning off the equipment. But the call was not answered.
On Saturday “immediately after taking steps to shoot down the PRC balloon, the Department of Defense carried out a secure call requestbetween Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said Tuesday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“Unfortunately, the PRC has rejected our request. Our efforts to open lines of communication will continue,” Ryder added.
The entire incident, since the balloon was first seen, has been surrounded by mystery and suspicionwhich compelled prudence to govern the operation to shoot her down and find her parts at sea.
Joe Biden’s order to abort the Chinese device only came on Saturday, when the unmanned plane stopped flying over US land and entered the Atlantic Ocean.
That was the only way ensure the safety of people on the groundthe authorities explained.
Now, the US Navy continues with the process of recovering the remains of the balloon at sea. On Tuesday, that force released four photographs showing its team aboard a semi-rigid boat rescuing pieces of white cloth and part of the structure of the balloon destroyed by a missile.
In the images, with the Navy ship USS Carter Hall in the background, members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 are seen handling these items, a precaution to beware of the possibility that some part of the globe was filled with explosivesexplained the head of the US Northern Command, General Glen VanHerck.
The photographs were taken off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last Sunday.
The operation takes place in an area equivalent to “fifteen football fields by fifteen football fields,” VanHerck explained. A Pathfinder ship, which has sonar, helps create a map of the area.
What about the globe in Latin America
The device that flew over the United States he wasn’t the only one sighted in recent days. Soon after the conflict over that balloon erupted, another was reported to exist in the skies over South America.
However, this Wednesday the Pentagon downplayed this second device.
Kirby explained that the Biden government determined that this airship was “not a military threat” to the region, the same conclusion that US intelligence services came to regarding the Chinese balloon that flew over the United States.
The aircraft, recognized as its own by the Chinese government, was taken over Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.