Chinese spy balloon – live: US studies shot-down balloon as Pentagon reveals China’s ‘larger’ spy operation

A high-altitude Chinese spy balloon that the US shot down after it traveled across the US last week is part of a “larger” surveillance and intelligence-gathering operation in China, according to Pentagon officials.

US military and intelligence officials revealed this week that at least four other balloons were spotted above the US in recent years, including three times during former president Donald Trump’s administration.

In remarks alongside Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg from Washington DC on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US and other world leaders are studying the scale and scope of China’s surveillance program and its latest balloon in the US, which Mr Blinken said “violated international law and US sovereignty” with “an irresponsible act”.

Mr Stoltenberg said that the balloon incident “confirms a pattern of Chinese behaviour” using “different types of intelligence and surveillance platforms” around the world.

FBI investigators are examining the remains of the balloon recovered by US Navy sailors.

Key Points

• Pentagon discusses ‘larger Chinese surveillance balloon program’

• US Secretary of State: China ‘violated international law and US sovereignty’

• Nato secretary-general: Spy ballon confirms Beijing’s ‘pattern’ of global surveillance

• China accuses Biden of ‘smearing’ nation in SOTU

• At least five balloons discovered above US in recent years, according to officials

ICYMI: Chinese official claims Biden ‘smeared’ China during State of the Union

04:00 , Alex Woodward

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that it is “not the practice of a responsible country to smear a country or restrict the country’s legitimate development rights under the excuse of competition, even at the expense of disrupting the global industrial and supply chain.”

More from The Associated Press:

China slams Biden ‘smear’ in State of the Union address

ICYMI: China’s surveillance program spans ‘dozens’ of missions across several countries

03:00 , Alex Woodward

US officials recently briefed roughly 150 people from about 40 embassies on China’s balloon espionage program, which spanned “dozens” of operations since 2018 across several countries, according to an exclusive report from The Washington Post.

The program reportedly relies on technology provided by a private Chinese company that is part of the country’s civil-military fusion effort, which has seen private companies develop technologies and capabilities used by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

“These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which also violated the sovereignty of other countries,” a senior defense official said, according to The Post.

Everything we know about Chinese spy balloons that flew above the US during the Trump administration

02:00 , Alex Woodward

President Joe Biden’s administration and senior military officials revealed that similar crafts had flown above the US in previous years, including at least three times during former president Donald Trump’s administration, as part of what national security officials have described as a years-long Chinese global surveillance programme.

Mr Trump and former Trump-era officials, meanwhile, have rejected claims about such flights from the Biden administration, while the former president has called the claims “disinformation”.

What we know about Chinese spy balloons that flew over US during Trump administration

What did Joe Biden say about China during his State of the Union address?

01:00 , Alex Woodward

In his remarks to a joint session of Congress in a prime-time speech on Tuesday night, President Joe Biden mentioned China at least seven times, focusing mainly on how the US is competing with Beijing while also seeking to avoid conflict.

He did not specifically discuss the ballloon incident and his decision to shoot it down, but he pledged to act to “protect our country” against potential threats “as we made clear last week”.

Here is a portion of his remarks:

We made clear and I made clear in my personal conversations, which have been many, with President Xi that we seek competition, not conflict.

But I will make no apologies that we’re investing ... to make America stronger. Investing in American innovation and industries that will define the future that China intends to be dominating. Investing in our alliances and working with our allies to protect advanced technologies so they will not be used against us. Modernizing our military to safeguard stability and ... deter aggression.

Today, we’re in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or anyone else in the world. Anyone else in the world. And I’m committed – I’m committed to work with China where we can advance American interests and benefit the world.

But make no mistake about it: As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.

Look, let’s be clear: Winning the competition should unite all of us. We face serious challenges across the world. But in the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker. Autocracies have grown weaker, not stronger. Name me a world leader who’d change places with Xi Jinping. Name me one. Name me one.

More from his remarks at the State of the Union address:

Joe Biden says US won’t let China ‘threaten sovereignty’ after downing spy balloon

Spy balloon videos dominated TikTok. Why didn’t China stop them?

00:00 , Alex Woodward

Calls from lawmakers in Washington DC for an outright ban on TikTok have intensified in recent months due to concerns its Chinese owners Bytedance could be coerced by the country’s authoritarian government to surveil or manipulate public opinion in the US.

The argument is that TikTok can put its thumb on the scale by influencing the algorithm, and share personal data with its the Chinese government, which keeps citizens in line through its surveillance state.

More than 30 states have already banned the app from government-owned devices in recent months.

But TikTok appeared to be directing users towards the #chinesespyballoon hashtag even while the Chinese Communist Party was still insisting it was an errant weather balloon.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley reports on how the world watched the balloon incident from the popular app:

Spy balloon videos dominated TikTok. Why didn’t China stop them?

China’s espionage operations: not just balloons

Wednesday 8 February 2023 23:30 , Alex Woodward

In ways that are far less public, but often more worrisome, US officials say, the Chinese government has been targeting US industry and government agencies with spy operations designed to collect troves of commercial secrets and sensitive personal data — and to generally give the global superpower a competitive edge.

More from The Associated Press:

Not just balloons: How US sees China spying as major worry

Kevin McCarthy tells Fox News that the balloon incident is a kitchen-table issue for most Americans: ‘The atrocity happening to America'

Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:45 , Alex Woodward

In an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday, after joining Joe Biden for his State of the Union address, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the president failed to adequately address Chinese threats in his speech, claiming that the spy balloon was a “kitchen table” issue – a characterisation usually reserved for things like grocery bills, healthcare, school and gas prices.

In his remarks, the president defended US investments in industry in areas where “China’s government is intent on dominating.” Mr Biden said his administration is “committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world,” warning that “if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country.”

Mr McCarthy called the balloon incident, particularly Mr Biden’s response, “an atrocity that is happening to America”.

‘A larger Chinese surveillance balloon program’

Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

In recent days, military officials have revealed more about what the US has called a larger network of Chinese spy balloons after the discovery of the aircraft above the US last week.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Wednesday that at least four other balloons were spotted above the US in recent years, including three times during the Trump administration. The balloons are “part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program,” he said.

“This last week provided the United States with a unique opportunity to learn a lot more about the Chinese surveillance balloon program,” he said.

The recovered information “will help us to continue to strengthen our ability to track these kinds of objects,” he added.

Nato secretary-general: Spy balloon incident speaks to ‘pattern of Chinese behaviour’ of global surveillance

Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:15 , Alex Woodward

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by the US after traveling across the country last week “confirms a pattern of Chinese behaviour” using “different types of intelligence and surveillance platforms” around the world.

Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC, Mr Stoltenberg said world leaders face a “constant risk of Chinese intelligence” that challenges officials to “step up what we do to protect ourselves.”

“We need to react in a prudent, responsible and vigilant way,” he said. “It also highlights that security is not regional.”

Mr Blinken said that the US is recovering “more information almost by the hour” as investigators examine what was salvaged from the balloon after a F-22 fighter jet shot it down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

“As we’ve noted as well, we’re not alone in this,” he said, pointing to intelligence reports revealing China’s global surveillance operation.

“We continue to look to China to act responsibly,” Mr Blinken said.

US Secretary of State: China ‘violated international law and US sovereignty’ with spy balloon

Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:45 , Alex Woodward

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China “violated international law and US sovereignty” with “an irresponsible act” by sending a surveillance balloon to the United States.

In remarks alongside Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg from Washington DC on Wednesday, Mr Blinken said that the US and other world leaders are studying the scale and scope of China’s surveillance programme.

Their discussion examined the “systemic and tactical challenges that China presents” to Nato and “the broader international system,” Mr Blinken said.

“We acted responsibly and prudently to protect our interests” by shooting down the aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, Mr Blinken said.

Officials now are “analysing to learn more about the surveillance programme” by examining the remains of the balloon recovered by US Navy sailors.

He said that the world “expects China and the United States to manage our relationship responsibly”, and he said the US also urges China “to do the same”.

What information can be recovered from the balloon?

Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:00 , Alex Woodward

Defense officials told CNN that the US has gained some insight into the balloon’s transit and the kinds of signals it was emitting as it traveled.

But a study of the balloon’s hardware and contents that is underway with FBI assistance will help officials learn more about what exactly it was capable of.

“When the balloon is in our hands, we can look at the technology, we can rebuild the supply chain, find out who helped build it, what components were important to it,” US Rep Jim Himes, the top Democratic lawmaker on the House Intelligence Committee, told the network.

“Obviously you can tell its functions and specifications. There’s a very high intelligence value in having it,” he said.

At least five balloons discovered above US in recent years, according to officials

Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:31 , Alex Woodward

Chinese surveillance balloons were observed in the US at least three times during the Trump administartion – and twice during the Biden administration, including the recent episode in which the president ordered a balloon to be shot down.

The New York Times reports that spy balloons observed in the previous administration were initially classified as unidentified aerial phenomena, officials told the newspaper.

Earlier this week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the Biden administration was able to retroactively identify the presence of Chinese balloons in US airspace during Trump’s term after the president worked to enhance the nation’s “surveillance of our territorial airspace”.

“We enhanced our capacity to be able to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect,” he said.

Glen David VanHerck, US Air Force general and commander of the United States Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told reporters this week that “we did not detect those threats” in previous years.”

“And that’s a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out,” he told reporters on 6 February.

“Day to day we do not have the authority to collect intelligence within the [US],” he added. “In this case, specific authorities were granted to collect intelligence against the balloon specifically, and we utilize specific capabilities to do that.”

Full story: China slams Biden ‘smear’ in State of the Union address

Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:20 , Alex Woodward

Joe Biden mentioned China and its leader, Xi Jinping, at least seven times in his address Tuesday night, focusing mainly on how the US was increasingly prepared to compete with Beijing while also seeking to avoid conflict.

“I’ve made clear with President Xi that we seek competition, not conflict," Mr Biden said.

“I will make no apologies that we are investing to make America strong. Investing in American innovation, in industries that will define the future, and that China’s government is intent on dominating," he said.

Mr Biden said his administration is “committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world."

However, he also warned that “if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country," a pointed reference to the shooting down on Saturday of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had traversed the continental United States.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that it is “not the practice of a responsible country to smear a country or restrict the country’s legitimate development rights under the excuse of competition, even at the expense of disrupting the global industrial and supply chain.”

China slams Biden ‘smear’ in State of the Union address

Engineers studying remains from shot-down balloon

Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:30 , Alex Woodward

A team of FBI engineers in Quantico, Virginia is examining debris and materials recovered from the shot-down balloon over the weekend. Images released by the US Navy show divers and boats picking up what look like massive white sheets and pieces of metal from the Atlantic Ocean.

The team studying the remains are also examining any intelligence the balloon may have gathered and how best to track surveillance balloons in the future, according to CNN.

Sources familiar with the investigation told the network that officials aim to understand as possible about the balloon’s technical capabilities, including “what kind of data it could intercept and gather, what satellites it was linked to and whether it has any vulnerabilities that the US might be able to exploit”.

China’s surveillance programme spans ‘dozens’ of missions across several countries

Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:00 , Alex Woodward

US officials recently briefed roughly 150 people from about 40 embassies on China’s balloon espionage programme, which spanned “dozens” of operations since 2018 across several countries, according to an exclusive report from The Washington Post.

The programme reportedly relies on technology provided by a private Chinese company that is part of the country’s civil-military fusion effort, which has seen private companies develop technologies and capabilities used by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

“These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which also violated the sovereignty of other countries,” a senior defense official said, according to The Post.

Biden warns China against threatening US sovereignty. China called that a ‘smear'

Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:00 , Alex Woodward

In a pointed reference to the Chinese surveillance balloon he ordered to shoot down after it traveled above the US last week, President Biden warned in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night that “if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country”.

Chinese authorities claimed that the president’s remarks were a “smear” against China, which continues to insist that the balloon was a civilian craft that drifted off course. China’s state media and US military officials, however, have reported on the country’s long-brewing balloon surveillance programme, relying on relatively lower-cost equipment with advances in technology for longer-range missions and communications.

China is “opposed to defining the entire China-U.S. relationship in terms of competition,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing Wednesday.

“It is not the practice of a responsible country to smear a country or restrict the country’s legitimate development rights under the excuse of competition, even at the expense of disrupting the global industrial and supply chain,” Mao said.

ICYMI: GOP House Oversight chair forced to admit his ‘bioweapon’ suggestion is not based in any evidence

Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:15 , Alex Woodward

Republican House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer floated, without evidence, on Fox News, that the downed Chinese surveillance balloon brought down by the US military on Saturday may have contained “bioweapons” from Wuhan, invoking a lab-leak theory that has consumed right-wing discourse.

When he appeared on CNN on Tuesday, he was grilled about his baseless remarks and forced to admit that he did not have any evidence on which to base his question.

“But you don’t have any evidence that this balloon contained bioweapons,” host Kaitlan Collins asked after quoting his remarks in full.

“I asked a question,” he replied. “What was in the balloon? Was it a spy balloon? Was it a weather balloon like China said? What exactly did the US military know about this? What did our intelligence know about this? Did they know it was even in our space before it got into Alaska airspace?”

Even as he continued to float the evidence-free idea that the balloon contained a weapon, he invoked similar demands from other GOP officials who wanted the Biden administration to shoot down the balloon while it was still above the US.

Lawmakers will be briefed on the balloon incident this week. Ms Collins asked whether Mr Comer will “come out and make that clear publicy” that the balloon did not contain a weapon after that briefing.

“Sure. Absolutely,” he replied. “But I never said it was. I said for all we know, it had bioweapons in it. We don’t know anything about the balloon.”

This is what Chinese authorities did to a spy balloon over its own territory

Wednesday 8 February 2023 13:45 , Alex Woodward

Chinese authorities accused the US of violating international law, “overreacting” and using “indiscriminate use of force” for shooting down one of the country’s surveillance balloons off the coast of South Carolina after it cruised across the US for several days.

But China also aired a documentary about its own authorities shooting down a balloon over its own territory, CNN reports.

China state media footage appeared to corroborate US claims that Chinese authorities has been developing a robust high-altitude surveillance craft programme for several years, with clips showing Chinese officials discussing unmanned balloons and outlining their flight path.

WATCH: Marjorie Taylor Green planned to bring balloon to Biden’s State of the Union address

Wednesday 8 February 2023 13:15 , Rachel Sharp

What we know about Chinese spy balloons that flew over US during Trump administration

Wednesday 8 February 2023 12:45 , Alex Woodward

Previous balloons were discovered near Florida, Guam, Hawaii and Texas, according to the US Department of Defense, which briefed members of Congress about the earlier flights in the wake of the latest incident. Several of those sightings occurred during the Trump administration.

According to a report from the US Air Force dated April 2022 – “People’s Republic of China High-Altitude Balloon” – military intelligence found that a Chinese spy balloon “circumnavigated the globe” in 2019 at an altitude of roughly 65,000 feet, and “drifted past Hawaii and across Florida before continuing its journey”.

Earlier balloon incidents were not discovered by military officials until forensic investigations under the current administration, according to Glen David VanHerck, US Air Force general and commander of the United States Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command

“We did not detect those threats. And that’s a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out,” he told reporters on 6 February.

“Day to day we do not have the authority to collect intelligence within the [US],” he added. “In this case, specific authorities were granted to collect intelligence against the balloon specifically, and we utilize specific capabilities to do that.”

What we know about Chinese spy balloons that flew over US during Trump administration

ICYMI: New details reveal how China ‘spy’ balloons floated over Hawaii and Florida under Trump’s watch

Wednesday 8 February 2023 12:15 , Alex Woodward

A US military document that is not in the public domain has revealed how China has allegedly been operating large balloons to traverse several parts of the world.

The report, dated April 2022 and partially accessed by CNN, stated damning accounts of how Chinese balloons “circumnavigated the globe” in 2019.

Trump administration officials have denied that such incidents occurred or suggested that the Pentagon had either intentionally withheld that information or failed to disclose it.

New details reveal how China balloons floated over Hawaii and Florida under Trump

Biden says US won’t let China ‘threaten our sovereignty’ in SOTU

Wednesday 8 February 2023 11:45 , Rachel Sharp

US president Joe Biden has said he will act to defend his country’s “sovereignty” after shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the weekend.

In his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday evening, Mr Biden said he wanted “competition, not conflict” with China, but struck a combative tone towards any violations of US airspace.

“Before I came to office, the story was about how the People’s Republic of China was increasing its power and America is failing in the world. Not anymore,” Mr Biden told the gathered legislators.

Read the full story here:

Joe Biden says US won’t let China ‘threaten sovereignty’ after downing spy balloon

US briefs 40 nations on Chinese spy balloons

Wednesday 8 February 2023 11:15 , Rachel Sharp

The US has briefed 40 nations on intelligence the Pentagon has so far gathered on China’s surveillance balloons.

On Monday, the US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed almost 150 foreign diplomats across 40 embassies about the balloon that entered US airspace in late January, according to a senior administration official.

“We want to make sure that we are sharing as much as we can with countries around the world who may also be susceptible to these types of operations,” they said of the meeting.

Briefings were also held with foreign diplomats at the US Embassy in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday.

Diplomats who attended told Reuters that US officials presented information showing the balloon was controlled by the People’s Liberation Army and was used for spying on the US – striking down Beijing’s claim it was a weather balloon that blew off course.

China accuses Biden of ‘smearing’ nation in SOTU

Wednesday 8 February 2023 10:43 , Rachel Sharp

China has reacted furiously to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address where he made reference to the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic on Saturday.

During Tuesday night’s speech, Mr Biden said that the US wants to “seek competition, not conflict” with China but warned that “if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country”.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to his comments at a daily briefing on Wednesday, accusing the US of trying “to smear” the nation.

“It is not the practice of a responsible country to smear a country or restrict the country’s legitimate development rights under the excuse of competition, even at the expense of disrupting the global industrial and supply chain,” she said.

She added that the US should work with China to “promote the return of bilateral relations to a track of sound and stable development”.

ICYMI: First images of Chinese spy balloon debris pulled from Atlantic Ocean released by US Navy

Wednesday 8 February 2023 10:00 , Alex Woodward

New images released by the US Navy show the debris from a destroyed Chinese spy balloon being pulled from the water in the Atlantic Ocean.

The photographs are dated 5 February, the day after the balloon was downed by a US Fair Force F-22 Raptor jet.

The images are the first close-up look at the object that Pentagon officials described as a “high-altitude surveillance balloon” that was discovered travelling over sensitive US military sites last week.

First images of Chinese spy balloon debris being recovered are released by Navy

‘Make no mistake, the Chinese spy balloon incident cannot be ignored'

Wednesday 8 February 2023 09:00 , Alex Woodward

Skylar Baker-Jordan writes for The Independent’s Voices:

Make no mistake, the Chinese spy balloon incident cannot be ignored | Voices

Spy balloon videos dominated TikTok. Why didn’t China stop them?

Wednesday 8 February 2023 08:00 , Alex Woodward

Republicans have wrapped the Chinese surveillance balloon into GOP talking points taking aim at the popular social media app TikTok, national security and the Biden administration’s relationship to China.

TikTok appeared to be directing users towards the #chinesespyballoon hashtag even while the Chinese Communist Party was still insisting it was an errant weather balloon.

Spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter pushed back on claims that the app was in anyway comparable to the surveillance balloon in a statement to The Independent.

“There is absolutely no connection between these two things. Anyone suggesting there is should not be taken seriously on matters of national security.”

Spy balloon videos dominated TikTok. Why didn’t China stop them?

How the Chinese spy balloon was caught

Wednesday 8 February 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

On Monday, US officials said that improvements ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last week’s spy balloon — and determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration.

The Associated Press reports:

How the Chinese spy balloon was caught

ICYMI: White House explains how China has spent years developing surveillance programme

Wednesday 8 February 2023 04:00 , Alex Woodward

The suspected Chinese espionage airship that was downed by an American F-22 fighter on Saturday was targeting “sensitive military sites” as part of a program that has been known to US officials for a number of years, the White House has said.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a briefing on Monday that China’s claim that the airship was a civilian craft sent aloft for climate study purposes “strains credulity”, and said US officials have known that the Chinese military had “a measure of control” over the speed and direction of the balloon, which was surveilling “sensitive military sites” in the US.

Mr Kirby said China’s use of balloons for espionage was “not a new programme” and instead is something “they’ve been working on for many years” that China has “tried to improve in terms of capability, range [and] communications”.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington:

White House explains what the Chinese spy balloon was watching

No, the US can’t ‘scoop’ the balloon out of the air, congressman says

Wednesday 8 February 2023 02:00 , Alex Woodward

Newt Gingrich claimed that the US had “plenty of capacity” to “scoop” the balloon out of US airspace before it was shot down on Saturday, something he said the US used to do “all the time”.

US Rep Ted Lieu, who was an active-duty servicemember with the US Air Force, poured water on those claims.

“Having served on active duty, I know for a fact the US does not have a balloon scooper aircraft,” he said. “Newt Gingrich, who never served in the military, has no idea what he is talking about. Also, unlike the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration shot down the CCP balloon.”

GOP House Oversight chair forced to admit his ‘bioweapon’ suggestion is not based in any evidence

Wednesday 8 February 2023 01:00 , Alex Woodward

Republican House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer floated, without evidence, on Fox News, that the downed Chinese surveillance balloon brought down by the US military on Saturday may have contained “bioweapons” from Wuhan, invoking a lab-leak theory that has consumed right-wing discourse.

When he appeared on CNN on Tuesday, he was grilled about his baseless remarks and forced to admit that he did not have any evidence on which to base his question.

“But you don’t have any evidence that this balloon contained bioweapons,” host Kaitlan Collins asked after quoting his remarks in full.

“I asked a question,” he replied. “What was in the balloon? Was it a spy balloon? Was it a weather balloon like China said? What exactly did the US military know about this? What did our intelligence know about this? Did they know it was even in our space before it got into Alaska airspace?”

Even as he continued to float the evidence-free idea that the balloon contained a weapon, he invoked similar demands from other GOP officials who wanted the Biden administration to shoot down the balloon while it was still above the US.

Lawmakers will be briefed on the balloon incident this week. Ms Collins asked whether Mr Comer will “come out and make that clear publicy” that the balloon did not contain a weapon after that briefing.

“Sure. Absolutely,” he replied. “But I never said it was. I said for all we know, it had bioweapons in it. We don’t know anything about the balloon.”

Former Navy official ‘concerned’ by Pentagon’s inability to detect previous balloons

Wednesday 8 February 2023 00:00 , Alex Woodward

Retired Admiral Harry Harris Jr, the former head of US Pacific Command, shared his concerns about the Pentagon’s apparent shortcomings in detecting previous spy balloons with the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

He said there is a “disconnect in our ability to understand these balloons.”

“That ought to concern all of us,” he added.

The Biden administration has reported at least four other previous balloon sightings in recent years as part of China’s apparent years-long surveillance programme, including several times during the Trump administration.

Mr Harris said that the US acted appropriately by shooting it down on Saturday but added that “it it was a threat to the United States, if it was collecting information that could not be blocked … then that’s a different issue.”

GOP conference chair claims Biden’s response to balloon incident led to ‘crisis in America’

Tuesday 7 February 2023 23:30 , Alex Woodward

In remarks on Tuesday as the GOP prepares to respond to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik demanded that the president “answer for his failed leadership,” pointing to the US-Mexico border, inflation, and “a ballon from communist China entering the United States sovereign airspace.”

“Joe Biden has caused a crisis in America,” she said.

She called his response – which included shooting down the balloon, which his GOP critics demanded that he do – an “abysmal failure” in comments to Fox News, echoing other right-wing personalities who have relied on the balloon incident to amplify their anti-China agenda and contempt for the administration.

ICYMI: Watch the moment an F-22 Raptor jet shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon

Tuesday 7 February 2023 22:45 , Alex Woodward

Marjorie Taylor Greene is bringing a balloon to Biden’s State of the Union address

Tuesday 7 February 2023 22:00 , Alex Woodward

Far-right US Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wants to bring a white balloon to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

She is among Republican lawmakers who have used the spy balloon incident to amplify their ongoing contempt for the president and the administration’s approach to China, despite Mr Biden ordering military officials to shoot down the balloon, which a US Air Force F-22 fighter jet brought down over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

Biden administration officials spent the last several days detailing what intelligence they’ve uncovered and explaining why it was too dangerous to shoot down the balloon until the potential debris field was clear and over water. The president had even asked to shoot it down sooner before military officials advised to wait until it was out of harm’s way.

But Ms Greene and other right-wing personalities are asking why it wasn’t brought down sooner, baselessly suggesting that the president “allowed” China to gather intelligence about the US.

Ms Greene, who is supporting Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign for president, has not commented on military reports that similar Chinese balloons were discovered above the US during his administration.

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi has more:

Marjorie Taylor Greene takes large balloon into State of the Union to troll Biden

Trump says he ‘strongly and brilliantly stated’ threats from China in 2015

Tuesday 7 February 2023 21:30 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump, who had a bank account in China and paid more in taxes to foreign governments than he did to the US his first year in office, claimed that he brought attention to Chinese threats “way back in 2015” when he launched his first serious presidential campaign.

“So much talk now about the threat of China,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. “Question: Who was the first person, way back in 2015, and before, that brought China to the attention of ALL, with many refusing to accept what was being so strongly and brilliantly stated? Why, surprise, it was Donald J Trump, of course!”

He said that the US “can have a great relationship with China, but it has to be one of MUTUAL respect.”

“Right now they have ZERO respect for the USA, two years ago it was at record levels!” he added.

Military officials have revealed that several Chinese balloon sightings were reported during the Trump administration. They were not shot down.

Balloon incident won’t derail Biden’s State of the Union address or his upcoming remarks on China

Tuesday 7 February 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

President Joe Biden will discuss the nation’s relationship with China during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, though she did not provide specifics about the nature of those remarks.

The US, however, will keep “open lines of communication” with China in the fallout from the balloon incident, she told reporters at the White House on Monday.

She said it is “up to China to figure out what kind of relationship they want” in its wake.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponed trip to China, which was shelved in the midst of the surveillance balloon discovery, will be “back on the books” when time permits, Ms Jean-Pierre said.

President Biden also told reporters on Monday afternoon that the recent incident will not change his speech plans.

“I want to talk to the American people and let them know the state of affairs –what’s going on, what I’m looking forward to working on from this point on, what we’ve done, and just have a conversation with the American people,” he said.

How the Chinese spy balloon was caught

Tuesday 7 February 2023 20:17 , Alex Woodward

US officials say that efforts ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last week’s spy balloon — and determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration.

Here’s how:

How the Chinese spy balloon was caught

Navy images give up-close look of balloon debris

Tuesday 7 February 2023 19:21 , Alex Woodward

Photgraphs published by the US Navy provide the first up-close images of the downed balloon, which military officials say was roughly 200-feet tall and weighed hundreds of pounds.

Spy balloon videos dominated TikTok. Why didn’t China stop them?

Tuesday 7 February 2023 18:30 , Alex Woodward

The popularity and immediacy of balloon-lreated clips reflect TikTok’s extraordinary reach and ability for its users to capture breaking news events even more nimbly than dedicated networks.

It also suggests that the platform’s mysterious algorithm was directing users towards the #chinesespyballoon content – even while Chinese authorities insisted the balloon was a civilian craft that drifted off course and accused US authorities of violating international accords.

Spy balloon videos dominated TikTok. Why didn’t China stop them?