US officials reportedly held briefings on the Chinese spy balloon in Washington and Beijing with foreign diplomats from 40 countries on Monday and Tuesday.
Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed nearly 150 foreign diplomats at 40 embassies on Monday, while US embassy officials in Beijing gathered foreign diplomats Monday and Tuesday to present the findings on the balloon.
“We want to make sure we share as much as we can with countries around the world that may also be susceptible to these types of operations,” an anonymous senior administration official told Reuters.
The Washington Post was the first to report Sherman’s briefing and quoted US officials as saying the spy balloon was linked to a sprawling military surveillance effort focused on the Chinese island of Hainan in the South China Sea.
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A Chinese spy balloon was seen on Saturday morning, February 4, 2023, over Fairview, North Carolina, moving from east to southeast. (Evan Fisher)
According to Reuters, US officials presented information at the Beijing briefings showing that the balloon was not for meteorological research, as China claimed, but an aircraft used for espionage. Diplomats in Beijing said the US embassy told them the solar panels on the balloon meant it needed more power than a weather balloon and that its flight path did not conform to natural wind patterns.
The balloon was also reportedly fitted with rudders and propellers.
“Based on the US briefing, our own understanding of such balloons, and the fact that China has so far refused to name the company or entity that owns this balloon, we find it hard to believe that it is a civilian weather balloon.” said a Beijing official. Asian based defense diplomat.
Officials in Washington said the balloon was controlled by the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military.
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The senior administrative official also told Reuters that the State Department sent information about the balloon incident to US missions around the world to share with allies and partners.
Asked whether Taiwan had been briefed by US officials, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Reuters that “we have always maintained close contact with the United States and continue to exchange views on US-US interactions.” China”.
Since the weekend, the Pentagon has been saying the balloons were part of a Chinese air fleet that has also violated the sovereignty of other countries. While the size of the balloon fleet was not immediately known, US officials said dozens of missions have taken place across five continents since 2018. Some of the missions headed to Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Reuters reported on Monday that Chinese military researchers have publicly argued that the balloons and aircraft should be further developed and deployed in a variety of missions.
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its wake below, on Saturday, February 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts into the ocean after being shot down off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina on February 4, 2023. (REUTERS/Randall Hill TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
A week after the balloon first entered US airspace in Alaska, an Air Force fighter jet shot it down off the coast of South Carolina on Sunday.
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China condemned the action and accused US officials of overreacting, claiming the “climate-related balloon” went off course in an “unexpected and isolated incident.”
The discovery of the balloon sparked outrage across the country and prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing that was supposed to be an attempt to mend strained relations.
