On Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder announced that the United States of America is monitoring a spy balloon flying across its airspace at an extreme altitude.
According to Ryder, the balloon soars far higher than conventional aircraft and poses absolutely no danger or hazard to those on the ground.
According to a senior official at the US Department of Defense, both the Chinese Embassy in Washington and our own embassy in Beijing were notified regarding the balloon.
This is not the first reconnaissance balloon to traverse American airspaces, as noted by a U.S government official. However, because of its immense size, it has thus far been avoided from being released over Montana’s populated areas.
Without a speck of doubt, he confirmed that the spy balloon in question was owned by China.
Following a thorough discussion between the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin and senior military leaders on Wednesday, President Joe Biden was briefed on potential armed forces strategies. It was determined that due to the risk it posed to nearby inhabitants, taking down the balloon should be avoided.
President Biden was apprised of the spy balloon and has ordered his security team to furnish alternatives on handling it.
US authorities are cautioning of a heightened Chinese espionage effort to pilfer classified technology information.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Department of Justice revealed that a Chinese intelligence agent had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in America for attempting to illegally acquire technology from American and French airlines.
US Judge, Xu Yangon was found guilty of spearheading a five-year plan sponsored by the Chinese government to pilfer trade secrets from aviation companies such as General Electric Aviation -the world’s premier manufacturer of aircraft engines- and Safran Group in France who collaborated with GE on engine development.
Last October, 11 Chinese nationals – including two intelligence officers- were mentioned in indictments before the federal court situated in Cincinnati, Ohio where GE Aviation is headquartered. Xu was one of them.
