Last week, a large Chinese spy balloon entered US airspace in Alaska and continued across the country.
It went over various areas of national security importance, including the location of stealth bombers and US nuclear-ready sites at air bases.
Now, the State Department is declassifying some information about the balloon, saying it wasn’t only targeting America and was part of a larger mission.
What Does the US State Department Claim?
According to the State Department, China has been working to spy on many of the countries in the world, saying “more than 40” have been targeted on almost every continent.
Right now, criticism is growing about why Joe Biden did not order the balloon shot down immediately after realizing it might be spying and was from China.
Reports say that Biden was advised by his Secretary of Defense and by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley not to shoot it down in case it scattered debris that injured civilians on the ground.
It’s unclear why it couldn’t have been shot down in an unpopulated area of the countryside.
The balloon was eventually shot down on Saturday, February 4, about six miles off the South Carolina coast over the ocean after completing its spying mission.
What exactly it may have found out about US nuclear capability and military readiness is still unknown, but what is clear is that Chinese communists humiliated the most powerful country on earth.
We all should be embarrassed and angry. Thankfully, a few Republicans are just that and have been consistently calling out the Biden-Harris regime’s incompetence.
It's ridiculous we're debating whether China can send airships over the U.S.
The Chinese Communists laughed at America while Joe Biden let the Chinese spy balloon float across America. pic.twitter.com/aRlWziD9gW
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) February 10, 2023
What Did the Balloon Do?
According to the State Department, US spy planes took a look at the balloon and figured out that it definitely was not just a “weather balloon” as the Chinese claimed it was before the entire world.
They said that the balloon had high-tech antennae and other signal interceptors that could track and locate the source of many communications.
It’s still not clear exactly what the balloon was doing or why, but it appears to have been on a multi-continent mission to find out details of military and communications systems.
The State Department also found that the balloon was indeed being run on behalf of China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army).
China has said they are sick of hearing about this and do not accept the responsibility, with their Foreign Affairs Department claiming that the United States is “hyping up” the issue and making China seem threatening when it’s not.
This isn’t making the US any “safer” and is just a political game by Washington, China claims.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, says China’s “irresponsible” illegal entry into US airspace is to blame for the escalation of tensions.
What I learned from the classified briefing on the Chinese Spy Balloon. pic.twitter.com/vXqDaE26CX
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 9, 2023
