Companies behind China’s spy balloon face US sanctions

Whoever helped make the Chinese spy balloon has big problems with the United States.

Washington is convinced that the manufacturer of the Chinese ball, which had “several antennasfor intelligence gathering purposes, has a “direct relationship” with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a senior State Department official said Thursday. 9).

The company, whose manager did not give the name, is apparently an approved supplier of the Chinese military and advertises balloon products on its website as well as hosting videos of past flights, which appear to have entered the airspace of the United States and other countries.

The presence of the ball in US airspace add to edit ggeopolitical tensions between the two superpowers. The United States has exerted pressure on China with its your chiprepression ICT Tacand crack a deal with the philippines access military bases near Taiwan.

Quote: US plans to take action against companies behind Chinese spy balloon

“We are considering taking action against the PLA-linked PRC entities that supported the balloon’s incursion into US airspace. We will seek to continue these broader efforts to expose and address broader PRC surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security and that of our allies and partners as well. —net priceState Department spokesman said Thursday

A brief timeline of the Chinese spy balloon in US airspace

January 28: The spy balloon first drifts over US territory and is spotted over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska

January 30: The balloon leaves American territory and enters Canadian airspace

January 31: The balloon returns to the United States over northern Idaho

February 1st : The balloon reaches for the skies over Billings, Montana, home to some of the greatest nuclear arsenal. The authorities did not shoot it down to avoid injuring civilians and their property with the debris.

February 2: Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the military “has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is currently over the continental United States.” The Canadian Armed Forces confirm the same thing. Meanwhile, China does not confirm its involvement and urges the United States to avoid hype and guesswork.

February 3: China FforeignerThe department says the machine is a civilian weather balloon that veered off course and accidentally entered US airspace. But UNITED STATESs secretarytate Antony Blinken, who is postponing his next trip to China, calls it a “clear violation of American sovereignty and international law.”

February 4: THE Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halting departures and arrivals at airports in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and closing airspace, to “support the Department of Defense in a national security effort “. At the request of President Joe Biden, the US military uses an F-22 fighter jet to shoot down the balloon with a missile over the Atlantic coast. Now it’s shifting from an air mission to a naval recovery mission as the United States begins to collect and study the debris. “The debris is mostly in 47 feet of water. The cover that’s going to make it pretty easy, actually. We had planned for much deeper water,” a senior military official said.

February 7: The United States says China has declined a secure call request between ssecretary of ddefends Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe.

February 9: The American House unanimous vote to condemn China for its “brazen violation” of US sovereignty by flying the spy balloon and its efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence-gathering campaigns.” Separately, a report from the New York Times says the Biden administration is working on new rules to limit US dollars invested in Chinese technology.

What the United States Revealed on the fleet of Chinese surveillance balloons

According a senior defense officialthere have been a few incidents of Chinese spy balloons entering US airspace in the past, including under the former Trump administration from 2016 to 2020:

“PRC government surveillance balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the previous administration and once that we know of at the start of this administration, but never for this duration. We spoke directly with Chinese officials through multiple channels, but rather than address their intrusion into our airspace, the PRC provided an explanation that lacked credibility.

Despite what China says, the United States is convinced that this balloon was deliberately sent into American airspace for espionage purposes:

“The PRC has publicly claimed that the high-altitude balloon operating over the United States is a weather balloon that was blown off course. It’s wrong. It was a PRC surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon voluntarily crossed the United States and Canada. And we’re convinced he was looking to monitor sensitive military sites. Its course over the United States, near many potential hotspots, contradicts the PRC government’s explanation that it was a weather balloon.

There is at least one other ball like this on the American side of the world, the senior official added:

“This is not the only PRC surveillance balloon operating in the Western Hemisphere. We believe one balloon has been observed transiting Central and South America, and this is another PRC surveillance balloon.

And last but not least, America is not the only target country:

“These types of activities are often undertaken under the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA. In recent years, Chinese balloons have already been spotted over countries on five continents, including East Asia, South Asia and Europe.

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