The internal structure of the CCP spy balloon was exposed, controlled by the military

 Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on U.S., CCP, Japan

News (1)

The internal structure of the CCP spy balloon was exposed, controlled by the military

Editor : Li Enzhen / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/02/09/a103645713.html / Image : On 5 February 2023, the U.S. Navy salvaged the wreckage of the Chinese spy balloon in waters off South Carolina. (Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

中共间谍气球内部结构曝光 由军方操控

The incident of the CCP spy balloon intruding into the U.S. airspace and being shot down by a U.S. warplane continues to simmer. Although the CCP has repeatedly argued that the unmanned airship is a "civilian weather balloon," U.S. intelligence agencies believe that it is a spacecraft operated by the CCP military to "engage in espionage operations." Solar panels, propellers, and rudders are found in the balloon.

A Chinese spy balloon was spotted entering U.S. airspace on 28 January. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken then postponed his visit to China. On 4 February, the U.S. military successfully shot down a CCP spy balloon that entered its airspace. However, China still argued that it was a weather balloon that went off course and accused the US of overreacting.

The United States convened diplomats from 40 countries based in Washington and Beijing for a briefing on a Chinese spy balloon that entered U.S. airspace in late January, a senior administration official and diplomat said on 7 February, Reuters reported.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed nearly 150 foreign diplomats from 40 embassies on 6 February while U.S. embassies convened meetings in Beijing on 6 and 7 February, the official said. Foreign diplomats, were explained the results of the U.S. investigation into the reconnaissance balloon.

A diplomat who attended the briefing in Beijing said the information provided by the United States showed that the balloon was not a weather research balloon as Beijing said it was, but a spy craft. The balloon entered U.S. airspace at the end of January and flew over U.S. military positions.

The diplomat said the U.S. believed the scout balloon had solar panels, meaning it needed more energy than a weather balloon, and the flight path did not match the natural wind path. U.S. officials also said the balloon was equipped with a remote-controlled rudder and propeller.

The Washington Post, which first reported Sherman's briefing, also quoted U.S. officials as saying the spy balloons were linked to China's extensive military reconnaissance activities centered on Hainan Island. U.S. officials spoke of the dozens of missions the unmanned airship fleet has carried out on five continents since 2018, collecting military information from Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, among other countries with emerging strategic interests for China.

The military operation involved technology from a private Chinese company that is part of China's "military-civil fusion" strategy, the report said.

The Washington Post quoted several U.S. officials as saying that U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons that recently invaded the U.S. mainland were part of a sprawling surveillance program run by the People's Liberation Army of the CCP.

On 8 February, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing that the CCP released "spy balloons" to five continents around the world, which "violated national sovereignty."

"These balloons are all part of the (Chinese Communist Party's) balloon fleet and were developed to perform surveillance operations," Pierre said. "In the past few years, countries on five continents have discovered Chinese balloons. We have made contact and discussed this issue with our allies and partners."

On 8 February, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference held together with Blinken in Washington, DC, that the Chinese spy balloon that floated over the United States last week was harmful to the 30 NATO Alliance countries as well as posing a security challenge to other countries around the world.

Stoltenberg said, "The balloons over the United States confirm a pattern of behavior in China (the CCP), and we see China (the CCP) investing a lot of money in new capabilities, including different types of surveillance and intelligence platforms."

"We need to be aware of the ongoing risks of Chinese intelligence operations and step up what we do to protect ourselves and respond in a prudent and responsible manner," he said.

News (2)

White House: CCP releases "spy balloons" to five continents

Reporter : Luo Tingting / Editor : Wen Hui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/02/09/a103645576.html

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated at a press briefing on the 8th that the CCP released "spy balloons" to five continents around the world. They "violate national sovereignty".

"These balloons are all part of the (Chinese Communist Party's) balloon fleet and were developed to perform surveillance operations," Pierre said. "In the past few years, countries on five continents have discovered Chinese balloons. We have made contact and discussed this issue with our allies and partners."

On 2 February, the U.S. Department of Defense reported that a CCP spy balloon had invaded the airspace of Montana. The balloon was shot down by a U.S. warplane after circling over the U.S. for a week.

The U.S. Navy is currently searching for the wreckage of the balloon in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina, and some of it has been recovered.

On February 5, 2023, the U.S. Navy salvaged the wreckage of the Chinese spy balloon in waters off South Carolina. (Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

On February 5, 2023, the U.S. Navy salvaged the wreckage of the Chinese spy balloon in waters off South Carolina. (Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

The Pentagon said the balloon was 200 feet in diameter, weighed 2,000 pounds, and contained equipment about the size of a regional jetliner. U.S. defense officials said last week that the balloon was the size of three buses.

The CCP officially claimed that it was a "civilian" balloon, mainly used for "meteorological research". Due to the weather, it deviated from its course and strayed into the U.S. airspace, accusing the U.S. of shooting down the balloon as excessive.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price denied on 6 February that the balloon was for civilian use: "China (the Communist Party) is fully aware of what kind of balloon this is, and China (the Communist Party of China) is fully aware of why this balloon appeared in our airspace. a) fully aware of what this balloon is doing over the United States."

He also emphasized that the US shooting down the CCP's high-altitude reconnaissance balloon was entirely out of consideration of national interests.

U.S. weather balloon manufacturing giant Kaymont said the downed Chinese balloon surpassed weather balloons in size, payload and flight time, Reuters reported.

U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that the balloon that invaded the continental United States was part of a sprawling surveillance program run by the Chinese military to gather information on the military capabilities of countries around the world.

A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post on Feb. 7 that the U.S. intelligence community believes some of the balloons were flown from a Chinese naval military base on Hainan Island. The spy balloons, operated by the PLA Air Force, have been spotted on five continents, gathering information on military assets in Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, among others.

Most of China's long-range surveillance is carried out by military satellites, U.S. officials said, but it also uses balloons flying at altitudes of 60,000 to 80,000 feet.

CNN reported that there are many "variants" of the Chinese spy balloons seen around the world, and not all of them are exactly the same model as the balloon shot down by the United States.

After the United States shot down the CCP spy balloon, it said that this is not the first time that the CCP has released a balloon to the United States. During the Trump administration, the CCP balloon entered the US airspace three times. In the early days of Biden's administration, another CCP balloon entered the United States but none of those balloons spent as long in U.S. airspace as this time.

According to a Reuters report on 8 February, US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman briefed nearly 150 diplomats from embassies of 40 countries in Washington on 6 February.

U.S. officials have begun sharing specific information with officials in countries such as Japan where military installations are targeted by Beijing.

When a Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Japan in 2020, some people mistook it for a UFO because no one had seen it, a Japanese official said. "So now there are a lot of people paying close attention to this matter."

When U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to Congress on the 7th, he made it clear that the U.S. will not tolerate threats from the CCP. The U.S. would also not seek to clash with Beijing, he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has indefinitely postponed his trip to Beijing, the first visit by the top U.S. official to China since 2018, due to the balloon incident. Blinken said: "This action by China (the Communist Party) is unacceptable and irresponsible. It is even more irresponsible to happen on the eve of the planned visit."

A Pentagon spokesman said on 7 February that after the U.S. military shot down the Chinese spy balloon, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe refused to answer the phone call from U.S. Defense Secretary Austin.