China launches investigation into suspected spy balloon flying over US, ministry says

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Ryan Saavedra - The Daily Wire




The Chinese foreign ministry responded to the U.S. military shooting down its spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday by claiming without evidence that the balloon was a civilian object and that the country was extremely upset by the action.

An F-22 Raptor took out the spy balloon with one air-to-air A9X sidewinder missile that was fired at an altitude of approximately 58,000 feet. The decision to shoot down the spy balloon came after President Joe Biden allowed the balloon to fly thousands of miles over the continental U.S. during the last several days.

“China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US’s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft,” the statement claimed. “The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure – it was completely an accident.”

“China clearly asked the US to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner. A spokesman for the US Department of Defense also stated that the balloon will not pose a military or personal threat to ground personnel,” the statement continued. “China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reaction.”

Biden tried to take a victory lap over the weekend after the spy balloon was shot down, claiming that he “ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible,” but that the decision was made to not shoot it down over land because debris could cause damage when falling to the ground.

U.S. officials were reportedly “well aware” that the balloon had crossed into American airspace on January 28 and that it was over Idaho on Tuesday, but decided not to inform the public to not upend Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic trip to China.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the spy balloon was sent to the U.S. “in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”

Biden faced intense scrutiny from top lawmakers who said that the spy balloon should have been shot down last month when it crossed over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The real reason it was shot down:

 

[DemonGeminiX]

#FuckChina

[PorkChopSandwiches]

The real reason it was shot down:

 

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Is that the first recorded air-to-air kill for an F-22 by the way? I love that plane but that would be a funny wiki entry to say a program cost of $30+ billion for 1 dead white balloon (so far )

@Godfather

[Godfather]

I love this so much Dude has the greatest bar story ever.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Olivia Land - New York Post




Chinese officials have admitted to owning the second spy balloon spotted over Latin America last week, which they claimed was also blown off-course like the device shot down over US waters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Monday that the balloon over Latin America was an unmanned research airship that had its course derailed by the weather, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“This airship seriously strayed from its planned route, and accidentally entered the skies over Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mao said, according to the outlet.

She did not address what areas the balloon was supposed to be observing.

Pentagon officials announced the sighting of the Latin American balloon on Friday, one day after they confirmed that a similar object had been detected over sensitive areas of the western US.



The US balloon subsequently traced a path across the country before it was shot down off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday.

While US officials maintain that the balloons are part of a covert Chinese surveillance operation, Chinese spokespeople insist that the devices are part of a civilian research effort.

After the aircraft was shot down, Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng filed a formal complaint with the American Embassy, calling the incident a “US attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”



“What the US has done has dealt a serious blow and damaged the efforts and advances in stabilizing China-US relations since the Bali meeting,” he said, referring to President Biden’s November tête-à-tête with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The second spy balloon elicited little response from Latin American governments, many of which are keen to cement their own trade relationships with Beijing, the WSJ reported.

Colombia’s air force reportedly confirmed that the device traveled over northern parts of the country at a speed of 29 miles per hour, but noted that “this element did not represent a threat to national security and defense.”



Costa Rica’s foreign ministry also said the second balloon flew over its territory, and that the Chinese embassy in San José had apologized for the incident.

Officials in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil reportedly declined to comment.

News of the Chinese spy balloon comes at a particularly fraught period for US-China relations. In light of the scandal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken indefinitely postponed his plan to visit China early this week.



“We’ve assessed it would not be conducive or constructive to travel to Beijing right now,” one official told reporters Friday.

“And I think, candidly speaking, in this current environment, I think it would have significantly narrowed the agenda that we would have been able to address.”

China’s confirmation of the second balloon also comes shortly after American Enterprise Institute non-resident fellow Michael Mazza wrote in The Post that the suspicious devices presented a “Sputnik moment” for Biden’s America.

Referring to the Soviet Union’s October 1957 satellite launch, Mazza called on Washington to use the spy balloon incident as fuel for bipartisanship.

“Republicans and Democrats should come together to ensure this moment doesn’t end in a pointless burst of hot air,” he insisted.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Timothy H.J. Nerozzi | Fox News


The People's Republic of China is requesting the return of its surveillance aircraft after the balloon was shot down over the continental United States on Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning fielded questions Tuesday about the incident, which dominated news cycles and commanded attention from U.S. politicians.



Asked for additional information regarding the purpose of the spy balloon and reports of similar aircraft making routes through North American and South American airspace, Mao declined.

"The Chinese side has given information about the unmanned airship on several occasions. I don’t have anything to add at the moment," she stated.



The Pentagon said it "acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information" from the spy platform. But geopolitical experts said there is little reason to believe those efforts were successful as the balloon almost certainly transferred surveillance data over to China as it flew over several military bases.

Asked if China has requested that the debris from the destroyed aircraft be returned, Mao said Tuesday, "The airship does not belong to the U.S. It belongs to China."



Mao reiterated in her Tuesday press conference the Chinese Communist Party's claim that the balloon was civilian in nature and criticized the U.S. government for not acting in a "calm and professional manner."

"The unmanned Chinese airship is of civilian nature. Its unintended entry into U.S. airspace is entirely unexpected and caused by force majeure. It didn’t pose any threat to any person or to the national security of the U.S. The U.S. should have properly handled such incidents in a calm and professional manner not involving the use of force, yet they decided to do otherwise, which is a clear overreaction."



The Pentagon said Saturday that three similar spy balloons from China flew over the U.S. during the Trump administration – a claim disputed by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

A senior administration official told Fox News that the existence of the Chinese spy balloons over U.S. territory during the Trump administration was not discovered until the Biden administration took over.

[DemonGeminiX]

They just don't want us to get hard evidence that it was indeed a spying device. To that I say again #FuckChina.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Yep

[lost in melb.]

gtfo