Washington [US], February 16: After shooting down a Chinese hot air balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, the US military adjusted its radar settings to detect smaller objects. Immediately, a total of 3 objects entered the radar's view, respectively in the sky over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron (Michigan state). US President Joe Biden ordered the shooting down of these objects and the military has not yet had access to their bodies.
At a press conference on February 14, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that so far, authorities have not seen any evidence that the three objects above belong to the hot air balloon program. (Chinese), or they play a role in foreign intelligence-gathering efforts. "Perhaps they are just balloons of research or commercial institutions, and therefore not harmful," Kirby told AFP. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reassured Americans that there was no need to panic about their presence.
Yesterday, The Washington Post also published an article explaining the path of the Chinese hot air balloon shot down by the US on February 4. At the time the balloon entered US airspace on January 28, the US military and intelligence agencies monitored it for nearly a week, starting from the time the balloon departed from Hainan Island. On the way, the hot air balloon suddenly turned north and entered the US. Currently, the US assesses the possibility that the hot air balloon "got lost" into the airspace and China has no intention of infiltrating the US mainland with this spy device.
As the US tries to "cool down" the hot air balloon incident, Tokyo on February 15 told China that using a hot air balloon to enter Japanese airspace is completely unacceptable. Japan's Defense Ministry is "deeply skeptical" of Chinese spy balloons that have entered the country's airspace at least three times since 2019. According to Kyodo News yesterday, Tokyo is considering expanding loosen the rules for invoking weapons in response to incursions into Japanese airspace.
On the same day, Beijing announced that it would take measures against US organizations that have acts that undermine China's sovereignty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the statement after the US said it would sanction six companies involved in China's spy balloon program.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper