Remnants of a big balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean
| Photo Credit: AP
China has operated a fleet of spy balloons concentrating on a number of international locations together with India and Japan, a media report has stated, days after the U.S. navy shot down a Chinese surveillance craft floating over delicate installations within the nation.
U.S. officers have briefed its mates and allies together with India on the finds of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by a fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina within the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.
On Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed officers from about 40 embassies right here about it.
“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 Washington Post reported on February 7.
The Post‘s report was primarily based on interviews with a number of nameless defence and intelligence officers.
Also Read | Puncturing ties: On China-U.S. ‘spy balloon’ row
Officials have stated these surveillance airships, operated partially by the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) air pressure, have been noticed over 5 continents, the each day reported.
“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,” a senior defence official was quoted as saying.
According to the each day, lately, not less than 4 balloons have been noticed over Hawaii, Florida, Texas and Guam — along with the one tracked final week.
Three of the 4 cases occurred through the Trump administration however had been solely just lately recognized as Chinese surveillance airships, it stated.
The Pentagon on Tuesday launched a sequence of images recovering the high-altitude surveillance balloon.
Source: www.thehindu.com