The shooting down of a huge Chinese balloon off the coast of USA, followed by two other smaller objects over Alaska and Canada, has been raising concerns about the safety of North America. The situation further strains relations with China. A summary from various agencies regarding what is known so far:
What were the knocked over objects?
The incidents began in late January, when a giant Chinese balloon, which Washington officials described as a spy, drifted for days in US skies before being shot down on February 4 by an F-22 jet off the South Carolina coast.
China insisted that the balloon was conducting meteorological research.
The Pentagon said it had a gondola the size of three buses and weighed more than a ton, plus it was equipped with multiple antennas and solar panels large enough to power various intelligence-gathering sensors.
It also appeared to have the ability to spin on its own, use the wind and have propulsion, officials said.
On Friday, US warplanes shot down another object off northern Alaska, the military said. This object lacked any propulsion or control system, according to authorities.
On Saturday, a US F-22 aircraft, acting on Canadian and Canadian orders, shot down a “high-altitude airborne object” over Canada’s central Yukon Territory, about 100 miles from the US border, over consider that it represented a threat to civil aviation.
Canada described it as cylindrical and smaller than the first balloon. Defense Minister Anita Anand declined to speculate whether he was of Chinese origin.
On Sunday, Biden ordered another object to be shot down “as a precaution” over Lake Huron. The device was described as an octagonal structure from which ropes hung and posed a risk to civil aviation when flying at an altitude of about 6,000 meters, according to officials.
The Pentagon said none of the four objects appeared armed or posed a threat of attack.
What has been recovered?
Military teams, working with planes, boats and mini-submarines, are touring the shallow waters off South Carolina. Military images showed the recovery of a large piece of the balloon.
?ATLANTIC OCEAN – @USNavy Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. pic.twitter.com/QwjSFQEw1b
—US Fleet Forces (@USFleetForces) February 7, 2023
The Federal Bureau of Investigation assumed custody of the remains for analysis.
Operations to recover the second object continue on the sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska. “Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow and limited daylight” impact operations, the military said.
Recovery teams, backed by a Canadian CP-140 patrol aircraft, are searching for remains of the third object in the Yukon, Anand said Saturday. The Pentagon noted that the FBI is working closely with Canadian police.
The Pentagon said on Sunday that US and Canadian teams were preparing an operation to try to recover the fourth object.
Purpose of flying objects
US officials say images of the first balloon show it consisted of surveillance equipment that could intercept telecommunications.
He secretary of defenseLloyd Austin, assured that his mission was “to monitor strategic sites in the continental United States.”
A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, suggested that China, or some members of its military leadership, were intentionally seeking to undermine Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to Beijing.
The United States maintains that the balloons were part of a “fleet” that has traveled the five continents.
Speculation grows about the other objects. Defense Under Secretary for Homeland Security Melissa Dalton said public and private research agencies were launching their own devices into the atmosphere at high altitudes.
The Defense Department doesn’t know what the additional objects are yet, but they approached sensitive military sites and posed a potential threat to commercial aviation, according to defense official Melissa Dalton https://t.co/aFLVDhAyjE pic.twitter.com/oaIjYKAMaB
—Bloomberg (@business) February 13, 2023
Analysts say it may be a major Chinese surveillance effort to analyze foreign military capabilities in anticipation of possible tensions over Taiwan in the coming years.
Are there more flying objects now?
Dalton said Sunday that after the Chinese balloon was detected, the US air defense made adjustments to radar systems to have the ability to detect smaller, slower objects in the atmosphere.
Analysts say U.S. and Canadian intelligence is constantly receiving large amounts of raw data and generally discarding some to focus on missile threats, not slow-moving objects like balloons.
“Now of course we are tracking them. So I think we’ll probably find more stuff,” Jim Himes, the top Democratic representative on the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC.
Rep. Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, says he has “real concerns” about the Biden administration’s transparency on the unidentified objects that have been shot down in recent days. https://t.co/nz4GXuZasn
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 12, 2023
On Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) sent fighter jets to investigate a “radar anomaly” over Montana, but found no objects.
Impact on US-China ties
The United States suspended the blinken visit to China, with the intention of stabilize bilateral relationsand has sanctioned six Chinese entities.
Beijing denounced the downing of the first balloon, saying it “seriously violates international practice.” It reserved the right “to use the necessary means to deal with similar situations.”
Dalton added on Sunday that after Beijing refused to communicate for several days, US officials have had “contacts” with China over the balloon, though he did not detail their nature.
Internal consequences?
Republicans have criticized Biden for waiting so long to shoot down the first balloon, though on Sunday House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said the US military had gone from “permissive” to “easy shooting.” ».
But Biden has faced calls from both camps to show more transparency. “I’m really concerned about why the administration isn’t being more forthcoming with everything it knows,” Himes said.
With information from Efe and Afp.
