The United States recovers key sensors from the Chinese balloon and tries to unravel the mystery of the downed objects

The US military has recovered key electronics and sensors, believed to be used for intelligence gathering, from the suspected Chinese spy balloon it shot down earlier this month, it said on Tuesday.

“Crews were able to recover significant debris from the site, including all identified priority sensors and electronics, as well as large sections of the structure,” US Northern Command said in a statement.

The giant balloon, which Beijing denied that it was a government device used for surveillancewas neutralized by a US warplane off South Carolina on February 4, after flying over the country for a week.

The rest of the alleged balloon fell overboard and was recovered by members of the US Navy.

Since then, members of the Federal Police (FBI) have been studying the remains to assess the object’s surveillance capabilities, but they didn’t have access to most of what they call the balloon’s “payload,” the electronics it carried on board.

Now, the US military claims it has that critical electronics to analyze.

Since this balloon incident, the United States has also shot down three other flying devices in North America – one in Alaska, another in Canada and another in the state of Michigan – whose origin has not yet been identified. .

Joe Biden’s government has accused China of developing a military espionage program through balloons sent to 40 countries on five continents.

In the midst of a climate of growing tension, the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, canceled a planned trip to Beijing, in which a rapprochement was sought after years of political and commercial friction.

China asks for explanations

For its part, the Chinese government said the first object downed was a weather balloon that deviated from its trajectory, and it reacted with disdain to the US reaction, which it deemed “exaggerated”.

The Beijing government relaunched the confrontation on Monday and denounced that a series of American balloons have flown over China at least ten times in the last year.

On Tuesday, the Asian country urged the United States to carry out a “comprehensive investigation” into these incursions into its airspace.

“The United States should conduct a very thorough investigation and give an explanation to China,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

“Yesterday we offered this information and, from what I see, the United States hasn’t denied it entirely. They should just explain themselves,” the spokesman said.

Wang did not provide evidence about the alleged raids, but said they started in May 2022.

The United States denies the claims. Xi Jinping’s government to have sent objects of observation in the airspace of the Asian country.

Meanwhile, one of the United States’ allies in Asia, Taiwan, said on Tuesday that its country experiences incursions of Chinese balloons into its airspace every year, but that they are meteorological and do not pose “a security threat”.

Source: AFP and EFE