Tag: Balloons (Aeronautics)

House Votes Unanimously to Condemn China Over Balloon

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday issued a bipartisan condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party for flying a spy balloon over the United States last week, unanimously approving the move after Republican leaders rebuffed a right-wing faction that had pressed to rebuke President Biden personally for how the incident was handled. The Chinese surveillance balloon, which was shot down by a missile from an F-22 fighter jet over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, was part of a fleet of such devices that have flown over 40 countries on five continents.…

Chinese Balloon Had Tools to Collect Communications Signals, U.S. Says

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. military over the Atlantic Ocean was capable of collecting communications signals and was part of a fleet of surveillance balloons directed by the Chinese military that had flown over more than 40 countries across five continents, the State Department said Thursday. The United States used high resolution imagery from U-2 flybys to determine the balloon’s capabilities, the department said in a written announcement, adding that the balloon’s equipment “was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard…

What China’s Military Balloons Show About Its Spying Ambitions

Chin@Strategy

Now, as some smaller states — particularly those the United States describes as allies and partners — confront this new potential threat of surveillance, their options may be limited. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? What’s their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Shooting down balloons is…

China Sends Spy Balloons Over Military Sites Worldwide, U.S. Officials Say

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — American intelligence agencies have assessed that China’s spy balloon program is part of a global surveillance effort that is designed to collect information on the military capabilities of countries around the world, according to three American officials. The balloon flights, some officials believe, are part of an effort by China to hone its ability to gather data about American military bases — in which it is most interested — as well as those of other nations in the event of a conflict or rising tensions. The balloons have…

After Spy Balloon Incident, China Rejects Pentagon’s Request to Speak

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said on Tuesday that China had rejected a request from Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to speak with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday soon after an American fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina. As the debris was settling into the Atlantic and Navy divers were beginning the arduous task of trying to recover the balloon’s sensors and other surveillance equipment, the Pentagon reached out to China to clear the air. “We believe in the importance of maintaining…

China Tries to Play Down Balloon Dispute With Censorship and Memes

Chin@Strategy

On Chinese social media, jokes about the suspected spy balloon have been making the rounds. People quipped that the vessel was a misunderstood attempt at wishing Americans a happy Lantern Festival, the Chinese holiday this past Sunday. Others compared it to a glutinous rice ball, a traditional food eaten during the celebrations. The wisecracking was, in part, what happens on social media anywhere in the world: current events transformed to memes to attract likes and follows. But it also dovetailed with signs of a broader government strategy to downplay an…

Trump-Era Chinese Spy Balloon Incursions Initially Went Undetected

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The top military commander overseeing North American airspace said Monday that some previous incursions by Chinese spy balloons during the Trump administration were not detected in real time, and the Pentagon learned of them only later. “I will tell you that we did not detect those threats, and that’s a domain awareness gap,” said Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the Pentagon’s Northern Command. One explanation, multiple U.S. officials said, is that some previous incursions were initially classified as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” Pentagon speak for U.F.O.s. As the…

Previous Chinese Balloon Incursions Initially Went Undetected

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The top military commander overseeing North American airspace said Monday that some previous incursions by Chinese spy balloons during the Trump administration were not detected in real time, and the Pentagon learned of them only later. “I will tell you that we did not detect those threats, and that’s a domain awareness gap,” said Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the Pentagon’s Northern Command. One explanation, multiple U.S. officials said, is that some previous incursions were initially classified as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” Pentagon speak for U.F.O.s. As the…

Another Chinese Balloon Flew Over Colombia, Officials Confirm

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A Chinese balloon floated over Latin America and the Caribbean, the Chinese government confirmed on Monday, adding that it was for civilian purposes and was being used for flight tests. “Affected by the weather and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course and entered into the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean,” a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, Mao Ning, said at a news conference on Monday. On Friday morning, before the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had spent the…

China’s Balloon Dispute Aims Attention at Xi’s Leadership

Chin@Strategy

The Chinese balloon that bumbled its way across the United States has launched a thousand questions about its real intent. But it is also focusing the world’s attention on the prospect that the communications and control within Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government and his vaunted security apparatus may be less coherent — or even less functional — than the image he so confidently projects. The stakes today are high. Relations between Washington and Beijing have frayed, and competition between the two sides has intensified, fueling fears that the wrong move…