Spy in the sky

SPY IN THE SKY

The China balloon shot down by the US was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 (Friday in Manila), citing imagery from American U-2 spy planes. A fleet of balloons operates under the direction of the People’s Liberation Army and is used specifically for spying, outfitted with high-tech equipment designed to gather sensitive information from targets across the globe, the US said. Similar balloons have sailed over five continents, according to the administration. A statement from a senior State Department official offered the most detail to date linking China’s military to the balloon that was shot down by the US last weekend over the Atlantic Ocean. The public details outlining the program’s scope and capabilities were meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that US accusations about the balloon amount to “information warfare.” On Capitol Hill, the House voted unanimously to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of US sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”

PHOTOS BY: AP

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