The unmanned balloon flying above American skies pointed to a “concerted effort” by China to develop its capability for additional surveillance assets over countries without their permission and knowledge, said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“This is a programme that the Chinese have been working on for several years. They have been trying to improve it, and grow it, and increase it and to gain intelligence insight from it,” Kirby said at a press conference on Wednesday.
[embedded content]
“And the United States is not the only nation that has been affected by this.”
The Pentagon on Wednesday offered an identical assessment. Brigadier General Pat Ryder said at a briefing that “what we now subsequently assess to be Chinese balloons [have been] operating over at least five continents in regions like Latin America, South America, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Europe”.
Ryder said the other balloons “share the common characteristic of being surveillance balloons”, varying in size and capability.
But he reiterated recent Pentagon statements that the information collection proficiencies of the suspected Chinese spy balloon did not afford a greater “advantage” compared to other capabilities the US knows China to possess.
The Pentagon said in a 2022 report to Congress that China had developed military satellites able to support monitoring, tracking and targeting of US and allied forces.
Kirby said the US would discuss the “Chinese spy balloon programme” on Wednesday with some allies and partners around the world, as the Biden administration believed it was important for those countries to be apprised.
The US has reportedly already briefed 40 countries about the Chinese balloon detected last week, carrying out its efforts in both Washington and Beijing.
Asked about Beijing’s response to Washington’s outreach, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday told reporters “it is hoped that the US will communicate with other countries based on facts”.
Blinken also said that the US was not the only target of a “broader” Chinese surveillance programme and that Washington has shared information it has obtained about China’s balloon with dozens of countries around the world, during a joint press conference with Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday.
Stoltenberg said the flight of the balloon confirmed a pattern of Chinese behaviour in building up new military capabilities and that China had also increased intelligence activities in Europe.
“We need to be aware of the constant risk of Chinese intelligence, and then step up what we do to protect ourselves,” he said.
In light of reports that China declined a request to have a phone call with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on Saturday after the balloon was shot down, Ryder stressed that “we’re going to continue to keep the lines of communication open on our end”.
02:43
‘A clear overreaction’: Beijing rebukes Washington for shooting down Chinese balloon
Ryder on Wednesday expressed confidence that the balloon flying over the US was for surveillance purposes, refuting Beijing’s claim it was an “unmanned civilian airship”.
“If in fact, it was a civilian balloon, a weather balloon, and it was approaching a sovereign nation about to enter their airspace, a responsible nation would have put out some kind of public statement saying, ‘hey, heads up, this is heading your way’,” Ryder said.
“The PRC did not do that. They didn’t respond until after they were called out.”
Kirby said “nothing has changed” after the balloon incident in terms of the White House’s strategy of seeking strategic competition but not conflict with China, echoing a statement highlighted during Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Hours before Biden’s speech, the Chinese embassy in Washington conveyed its concern to senior officials at the US State Department and the National Security Council over the balloon’s downing.
“We urge the US side not to take any actions that may escalate and complicate the situation,” the embassy said in a statement.
