Zoe Yeung '23
On February 1, a large, alleged surveillance balloon was spotted by the US military, assumed to be from China. Thus, they started to track the balloon. China released a statement on February 3 stating that they regret the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace.
China’s foreign ministry claims that the balloon wasn’t there to spy on any sensitive information, that it was for research and had accidentally drifted away into US airspace. On February 4, it was shot down by an American fighter jet 10 miles off the coast of South Carolina. However, this was not the only balloon they spotted.
The public made their own assumptions and opinions on the situation. But National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby spoke out saying that they had no part of China’s suspected surveillance program. However, China accused the US of likewise sending their own spy balloons into China’s airspace. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed the US illegally sent multiple high-altitude balloons into its airspace more than ten times since January 2022.
Marco Rubio, US Senator from Florida, commented, “A Chinese spy balloon over the U.S. is alarming but not surprising. The level of espionage aimed at our country by Beijing has grown dramatically more intense and brazen over the last 5 years.”
As of Friday, February 17, the balloon’s debris was fully cleaned up. After the US Northern Command successfully retrieved all of the debris, it was carefully examined.
US officials state that the Chinese balloon was carrying some equipment meant for taking photos and collecting signals. Sensitive sites were possibly recorded by the balloon but were reassured that only the path was tracked.
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