A Chinese meteorological probe entered US airspace on Jan. 28. This was announced on Saturday, February 4, by a senior official from the US Department of Defense.
It is noted that on January 30, a balloon was noticed in the sky over Canada. During a press briefing, a Pentagon spokesman was asked why the US military did not attempt to shoot down the balloon even then.
The Pentagon explained that at that time the US military did not have the opportunity to hit a target over US waters after it had passed territory over Alaska.
According to the US defense department, a Chinese reconnaissance probe was able to fly over important objects, including secret military enterprises.
Earlier in the day, the Pentagon said the US military was able to examine the equipment on a downed PRC balloon, which the US authorities consider intelligence.
The US defense department also denied Chinese claims that it was a meteorological probe that had gone astray.
The balloon was shot down by an air-to-air missile launched from an F-22 fighter jet.
Earlier in the day, the Associated Press also reported that the US military shot down a balloon belonging to China off the east coast of the country. According to eyewitnesses, the device burst like an ordinary balloon. The whole process was easy to observe from the ocean, which is why many people gathered on the coastal zone.
On the night of February 3, a huge balloon was seen in the sky over the States. The Pentagon then stated that it was a Chinese, presumably intelligence apparatus, but it did not pose a danger to the population, and all necessary measures to prevent the leakage of valuable information were promptly taken.
The ball was not knocked down. However, according to Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder, the defense department considered the very fact of intrusion into US airspace a violation of international law.
At the same time, the head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee), member of the Politburo Wang Yi, in a conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, noted that China does not accept unfounded speculation and hype because of the balloon situation.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Beijing opposes the attacks and slander of Washington after the “accidental” hit of a Chinese balloon in the United States. According to the representative of the department, the balloon was indeed brought by the wind from the territory of China, but we are talking about a civilian airship, which was used for scientific research and should not have been over the States.
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