The United States is considering taking action against entities associated with China’s military that supported the flight of a spy balloon into US airspace last week. According to a senior State Department official, Washington is confident that the balloon manufacturer, shot down by the US military off the US East Coast, has a direct relationship with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the US government would look at broader efforts to expose and address China’s larger surveillance activities that threaten US national security, allies, and partners.
The FBI is leading the efforts to analyze the recovered remains of the balloon. Still, they have only obtained limited physical evidence and have not yet been able to assess its capabilities. The FBI officials stated that they do not yet have access to most of the balloon’s payload, where most of the onboard electronics were likely carried, and much remains underwater.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman highlighted the flight of the Chinese balloon as another example of Beijing’s efforts to reshape the international order. Sherman said that the PRC has become more repressive at home and aggressive abroad and that Washington would continue to block China from using US technology to advance its military modernization. She also stated that the PRC is the only competitor with the intent and means to reshape the international order and that the balloon’s violation of US sovereignty and international law was the latest example of that reality. However, she also expressed hope that Washington and Beijing would be able to continue to work together on issues of shared concern, such as climate change, despite the current difficult times.
The incident with the Chinese balloon caused political outrage in Washington and brought into sharp focus the challenge posed by China to the US and its allies. As a result, Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled his trip to Beijing, which both countries had hoped would improve relations. Thursday’s briefings and hearings highlighted the political pressure that President Biden’s administration was under to address the incident. Democratic and Republican US lawmakers criticized the US military and the Biden administration for failing to shoot down the balloon when it first entered US airspace and waiting a week to do so. The House of Representatives voted 419-0 for a resolution condemning China for the balloon incursion, and US lawmakers have demanded more information from the Biden administration about the incident.
In a statement released by the State Department, the senior official stated that the balloon manufacturer has a direct relationship with China’s military and is an approved vendor of the PLA. The company advertises balloon products on its website and hosts videos from past flights, which appear to have overflown US airspace and the airspace of other countries. The US has collected high-resolution imagery of the balloon from U-2 aircraft flybys that revealed it was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations. The official stated that China had conducted similar surveillance flights over more than 40 countries on five continents.
On Monday, the US briefed 150 foreign diplomats in Washington and sent information to its missions worldwide to share details about the balloon incident. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed US charges that the balloon was part of a worldwide spying fleet and said the allegations could be part of a US information war against China.
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U.S. may target Chinese entities linked to spy balloon