China came under fire from the United States authorities last week when an alleged “spy” balloon was spotted over the US airspace, leading to a major security threat. Days after it continued looming over the country, the US launched missiles to shoot the Chinese “spy” balloon down.
Just days after the US shot down the alleged spy balloon by China over its airspace, a new report has claimed that China has also targeted other countries with these spy balloons, including India, Japan, and several neighbouring nations.
In a report, The Washington Post said, “The surveillance balloon effort, which has operated for several years partly out of Hainan province off China’s south coast, has collected information on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines.”
The report further claimed that several intelligence reports and anonymous officers from around 40 countries were briefed about the downing of the Chinese spy balloon. It said that several officials confirmed that a similar surveillance balloon was also spotted over five continents.
The report quoted a senior defence official as saying, “These balloons are all part of a PRC ( People's Republic of China) fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which also violated the sovereignty of other countries.”
As per media reports, four surveillance balloons were spotted over the US airspace in recent times, in areas such as Hawaii, Florida, Texas, and Guam, apart from the one spotted last week. These instances allegedly also took place during former US President Donald Trump’s term.
The white China spy balloon was spotted over the US airspace in the last few days of January, while the Chinese administration claimed that it was a weather research device. It was eventually shot down and blown to bits by missiles fired by US fighter jet F-22.
China had responded sternly to their balloon device being shot down by the US administration, saying that they will be reciprocating appropriately.
READ | Chinese ‘spy’ balloon shot down by US F-22 fighter jet missile, netizens share incredible video
