There is currently no indication that the flying objects shot down over the weekend were part of a Chinese espionage program. The White House spokesman said so at a press conference.
The search for the debris is not over yet. As long as the objects have not been recovered and examined, nothing can be said with certainty, according to the spokesperson. “But so far we have no indication that these three objects were part of China’s balloon espionage program, or that they were obviously involved in an intelligence-gathering effort.”
The flying devices may have been used for scientific research by commercial parties. But as long as no party or country steps forward, it remains a guess as to who they were and what their mission was.
Incidentally, the Democratic Senate President said last weekend that it is very likely that three balloons are involved. He said he based himself on information from intelligence services. But the White House is still sticking to “unknown flying objects” for now.
First missile missed target
The three objects were shot down over North America Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Today it became clear that the elimination of the latter did not go entirely according to plan. The first missile missed the object. Only on the second attempt did the American fighter jet hit the target, which crashed into Lake Huron.
The first rocket fired “harmlessly” ended up in the lake, the US military command said. The drop-off would not have caused any damage or injuries in Canada or the US.
Since the downing of China’s giant balloon earlier this month, Washington and Beijing have been embroiled in a diplomatic row. The two superpowers accuse each other of espionage by balloons. Both also deny spying on the other in this way.
China says the US shot down a stray weather balloon. The government speaks of a ‘clearly overreaction’ by the United States. Beijing said yesterday that the US itself has let at least ten “spy balloons” fly over China in a year. Washington strongly denies that allegation.
Japan also suspects balloon espionage
Japan and Taiwan, allies of the US, are now also joining the discussion. For example, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has “strong suspicions” that Chinese surveillance balloons have flown over Japanese territory three times since 2019. The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense warns China that it will immediately shoot down such balloons if such a thing happens over Taiwan.
- White House defends knocking down objects, Chinese balloon recovered
- Americans now see everything flying, and that is no coincidence
- US: shot down objects near Alaska and Canada probably balloons
