China has called for calm amid a growing diplomatic row with the US over suspected spy balloons, adding that Beijing was ‘verifying’ the reports. It comes after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Beijing after a large balloon was spotted in US airspace. ‘China is a responsible country that has always strictly abided by international laws, and it has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country,’ the foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. The Guardian
Tag: Espionage
China calls for calm amid growing row with US over suspected spy balloons
China has called for calm amid a growing diplomatic row with the US over suspected spy balloons. It comes after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Beijing after a huge balloon was spotted in US airspace. On Friday, a day after the first high-altitude balloon was identified over Montana, the Pentagon reported a second suspected spy balloon flying over Latin America. Amid growing tensions between the two countries – and Republican party claims that the Biden administration is not doing enough to deter…
Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon, as Blinken postpones China trip
A second Chinese spy balloon was reportedly flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon, in comments that came as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, postponed a visit to China after the intrusion of a separate high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace. “We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said, a day after the first craft was spotted over US skies. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.” The Pentagon did not specify the balloon’s exact location, but a…
US secretary of state postpones China visit after spy balloon flies over Montana
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is reported to have postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace. China had claimed the balloon that flew over Canada and the US was for “mainly meteorological purposes” and had been blown off course, and apologised to the US for its “unintended entry” into American airspace. But the postponement of Blinken’s visit, reported by Bloomberg and ABC News, suggests that the Biden administration views the overflight as a major incident in…
Chinese ‘spy balloon’ spotted flying over US – video
A video filmed in Montana appears to show a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US. The Pentagon has said it is tracking the balloon but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons. Defence officials said the balloon had been watched since it entered US airspace, flying at high altitude, a few days ago. The object first flew over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and Canada before appearing over the city of Billings, Montana, on Wednesday, officials said The Guardian
Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US
The Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States but had decided against shooting it down for safety reasons. Defence officials said the balloon has been watched for a couple days since it entered US airspace, flying at high altitude. It has been monitored by several methods including manned aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing over Montana. The officials said there was “high confidence” that it was Chinese, but that there was a danger of debris harming people on the ground…
Canada charges hydroelectricity researcher with espionage for China
Canada’s federal police have charged a hydroelectricity researcher at Quebec’s power utility with espionage, alleging the worker was covertly sending trade secrets to China. The arrest of Yuesheng Wang, 35, comes as Canada grapples with a barrage of accusations of Chinese interference, including allegations of meddling in its federal elections, as well as reports of secret “police stations” in the country’s largest city. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced the arrest of Wang, a researcher with Hydro-Québec, on Monday following a months-long investigation. Hydro-Québec, the fourth-largest hydropower producer in the…
UK minister criticised over ‘crass and archaic’ trope about Chinese people
A UK government minister has been criticised for using a “crass and archaic” trope when talking about Chinese people during a broadcast interview. The environment minister Mark Spencer referred to the possibility that “some little man in China” could be listening in to his conversations when discussing reports a device belonging to the former prime minister and foreign secretary Liz Truss had been compromised by foreign agents. <gu-island name="TweetBlockComponent" deferuntil="visible" props="{"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement","html":" Mark Spencer once again showing his ignorance, on many levels. https://t.co/Ysa12JHxWR — Sarah Owen MP (@SarahOwen_) October 31, 2022…
FBI and MI5 leaders give unprecedented joint warning on Chinese spying
The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency have delivered an unprecedented joint address raising fresh alarm about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. In a speech at MI5’s London headquarters intended as a show of western solidarity, Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stood alongside the MI5 director general, Ken McCallum. Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns about economic espionage and hacking operations by China, as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad.…
Secret British ‘black propaganda’ campaign targeted cold war enemies
The British government ran a secret “black propaganda” campaign for decades, targeting Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia with leaflets and reports from fake sources aimed at destabilising cold war enemies by encouraging racial tensions, sowing chaos, inciting violence and reinforcing anti-communist ideas, newly declassified documents have revealed. The effort, run from the mid-1950s through to the late 70s by a unit in London that was part of the Foreign Office, was focused on cold war enemies such as the Soviet Union and China, leftwing liberation groups and…