The flyover of a Chinese “spy balloon” over US territory is not new. Although the Republicans accuse Biden of being lazy for not shooting him down immediately, the truth is that during the Trump administration there were three similar flights that were not interrupted.
When Washington complained about the flyby and accused Beijing of spying, the Chinese government called the allegations ludicrous, but the Pentagon bolstered them for the erratic route the balloon took from China to the United States. According to the military, the device was not carrying out activities related to meteorology.
Last Saturday the Chinese balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. This Monday an FBI laboratory is analyzing the remains of the balloon, found a short distance from the shore. During the next few days it is expected to know what was inside.
The Pentagon disclosed three similar incidents inside the United States during the Trump administration. They were never publicly disclosed, but they have been wrecking a Republican campaign against President Biden for taking too long to topple him.
“I just had a conversation with our great President Trump, who would never allow China to fly a spy balloon over our country, our military units and property. President Trump would have shot him down before he entered United States territory,” far-right Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Providing the information about Saturday’s downing, a Pentagon spokesperson reaffirmed to CNN that there were three other balloons that “briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the previous administration” but were not touched. .
The three incidents were so officially hidden at the time that former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the network that even he had not been informed.
“I don’t remember anyone coming to my office or reading about the Chinese having an observation balloon over the United States. It would be one thing I wouldn’t forget,” Esper said.
On the other hand, the US government has said that another Chinese balloon has flown over Latin America, particularly Colombia, whose government does not seem very concerned about the fact. The Colombian Air Force said that the National Air Defense System had sighted a similar device at 55,000 feet on Friday, but that it had left national airspace on Saturday.
“The object entered Colombian airspace in the northern sector of the country, moving at an average speed of 25 knots or 29 miles per hour,” they said Saturday night in a statement.
The authorities determined that “it did not represent a threat to national security and defense, as well as to air safety.”
The Beijing government has said it fired the director of the China Meteorological Administration, Zhuang Goutay, on Sunday, but gave no further details.
