Chinese Balloon Over US

[Randy W]

US tracking suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

from BBC News

The mysterious object shut down flights in Montana on Wednesday

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Top military leaders, including Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, met on Wednesday to assess the threat. Mr Austin was travelling in the Philippines at the time.

Montana, a sparsely populated state, is home to one of only three nuclear missile silo fields in the country, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, and officials said the apparent spy craft was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.

But they advised against taking "kinetic action" against the balloon because of the danger falling debris might pose to people on the ground.

The defence official, however, said there was no "significantly enhanced threat" of US intelligence being compromised because American officials "know exactly where this balloon is and exactly where it's passing over".

He added that there was also no threat to civilian aviation as the balloon was "significantly" above the altitude used by commercial airlines.

The official said the balloon is unlikely to give much more information than what China can already collect using satellites.

 

 

[Randy W]

7 hours ago, Randy W said:

US tracking suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

from BBC News

The mysterious object shut down flights in Montana on Wednesday

 

BREAKING: China’s foreign ministry has expressed regret over what it called a civilian balloon straying into US airspace https://aje.io/6yf9us

from Al Jazeera

China says balloon over US airspace is civilian airship
Foreign ministry says alleged surveillance balloon is used mainly for weather monitoring and deviated from its planned course.

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The news came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to make his first trip to Beijing this weekend. The visit has not been formally announced, and it was not immediately clear if the balloon’s discovery would affect his travel plans.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning had earlier said she had no information on the trip. But she added China had “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country” and urged for calm while the facts were established.

Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, on a mission to mitigate a sharp downturn in relations between the countries amid trade disputes and concerns about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive stance towards Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

and again from Al Jazeera

Blinken postpones visit to China because of balloon over US

Chinese ‘surveillance’ balloon in US airspace is an ‘unacceptable’ violation of sovereignty, Washington says.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a visit to China, the United States government has confirmed, calling the presence of an alleged Chinese spy balloon in American airspace an “unacceptable” violation of its sovereignty.

A  senior Department of State official said on Friday that “conditions are not right” for the visit that was set to start on Sunday due to the “irresponsible” balloon flight.

China has expressed regret for the balloon entering US airspace, describing it as a civilian airship used for meteorological research that “deviated far from its planned course” because of its “limited self-steering capability”. But the US administration said the aircraft was a “high-altitude surveillance balloon”.

 

 

[Randy W]

And if anyone in Montana has experience in dealing with unexpected visitors from above, or at least pretending to, it is the Montana cattle rancher Bill Pullman, better known to many as the actor who played the president in the 1996 alien invasion film “Independence Day.”

“It was a wake-up call for me and probably for a lot of people in Montana,” Mr. Pullman said Friday. “The state can feel too remote to be in harm’s way if there were a war, but in fact it could very likely be the frontline of a nuclear first strike. Fortunately I think most Montanans have a restraint that keeps things like unruly horses and floating hot-air balloons from causing a bad wreck.”

Brian Schweitzer, a former governor of Montana, said he understood people’s concern. “In Montana, we don’t like people peeking over our fences,” he said.

But he said he found it hard to believe that China was spying on the missile silos. “I grew up in a little farmhouse a mile from an intercontinental missile,” he said. While the missiles are underground and not visible, Mr. Schweitzer said, you can drive up to the facility and take a photo. “Taking a rental car would be a lot cheaper than sending a balloon from Beijing,” he said.

A Giant Balloon Floats Into Town, and It’s All Anyone Can Talk About
A Chinese balloon has been raising a lot of questions for people who live under its path. “I did see it, and it should have been shot,” said a barbecue chef in Billings, Mont.

from the NY Times

“They shut down the airport and wouldn’t let anyone land or take off, but wouldn’t say why,” said Larry Mayer, who works for The Billings Gazette and is also a pilot. Credit...Janie Osborne for The New York Times

 

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

China’s top diplomat urges US to ‘avoid misjudgment’ as Blinken trip postponed over balloon issue 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his planned trip to China after the United States detected a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over its territory.

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/864219818025292/

 

 

China’s top diplomat urges US to ‘avoid misjudgment’ as Blinken trip postponed over balloon issue

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his planned trip to China after the United States detected a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over its territory.

Posted by South China Morning Post on Saturday, February 4, 2023

 

[Randy W]

[Randy W]

I don't think anything really makes any sense about this, except for the possibility that it may have been an internal (Chinese) attempt by anti-Xi factions to embarass Xi Jinping. It's basically a lose-lose event for China - I'm not seeing any conceivable benefit for them.

China Spying: It’s Everywhere

PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 3, 2023

from the Harris-Bricken Law Firm

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This spy balloon has already worsened relations between China and the United States and caused U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to postpone his upcoming trip to China. This latest incident by China is not likely to have much direct impact on companies that do business in or with China, but it should serve as yet another wake up call regarding China’s overall risks.

More particularly, if you are still having your products made in China, you should consider speeding up your plan to have them made elsewhere.

 

 

[Randy W]

Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too

from Forbes

Three times

The current balloon's transmissions were scrambled, and all information extracted.

 

 

[Randy W]

Breaking News: The Chinese balloon shot down by the U.S. could collect communications signals and was part of a global fleet directed by the Chinese military, the State Department said.

from the NY Times on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/pfbid0PUxW4TdyETwGDnTFojvdSTWMKPipdWtUbWuvDL31fPmNLphY3B53Q2bqUxhAmnfGl

 

Chinese Balloon Had Tools to Collect Communications Signals, U.S. Says
China’s surveillance balloons have flown over more than 40 countries and are directed by the Chinese military, the State Department said.

This is a non-paywalled link to a shareable copy of the article

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The United States used high resolution imagery from U-2 flybys to determine the balloon’s capabilities, the department said in a written announcement, adding that the balloon’s equipment “was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons.”

The agency said the balloon had multiple antennas in an array that was “likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications.” Solar panels on the machine were large enough to produce power to operate “multiple active intelligence collection sensors,” the department said.

The agency also said the U.S. government was “confident” that the company that made the balloon had direct commercial ties with the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese military, citing an official procurement portal for the army. The department did not name the company.

“The United States will also explore taking action against P.R.C. entities linked to the P.L.A. that supported the balloon’s incursion into U.S. airspace,” the State Department said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “We will also look at broader efforts to expose and address the P.R.C.’s larger surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security, and to our allies and partners.”

 

 

 

[Randy W]

CNN's Selina Wang asked a Chinese official about the suspected spy balloon shot down in the US

Edited February 11, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Li Jingjing says her piece - she seems to focus on the idea of America "arresting" China these days for some reason

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

US restricts 6 Chinese companies tied to airships and balloons

from CNN Business 

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The six companies support the Chinese government's "modernization efforts, specifically those related to aerospace programs, including airships and balloons and related materials and components, that are used by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for intelligence and reconnaissance," the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said in a statement.

The six companies are: Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology; China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute; Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology; Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group; Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology; and Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group.

The inclusion of the companies on the Commerce Department's "Entity List," sends "a clear message to companies, governments, and other stakeholders globally that the entities on the list present a threat to national security," the statement said.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

One of China’s top aeronautics scientists in 2019 proudly told state-run media that his team had sent an airship across most of the world, including North America.
He has been central to China's balloon program, corporate records and reports reveal.

from the NY Times on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/pfbid0yuktSDQkjs8rdD9feoG6cWU3nxYLZkdCsRUSbnyqiq8raqTpqhDXb6fhgtdLumP1l

China’s Top Airship Scientist Said He Sent One Over North America in 2019
Corporate records and media reports reveal an airship scientist at the center of China’s high-altitude balloon program. Companies he has founded were among those targeted by Washington.

 

This is a non-paywalled link to a shareable copy of the article

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In 2019, years before a hulking high-altitude Chinese balloon floated across the United States and caused widespread alarm, one of China’s top aeronautics scientists made a proud announcement that received little attention back then: His team had launched an airship more than 60,000 feet into the air and sent it sailing around most of the globe, including across North America.

The scientist, Wu Zhe, told a state-run news outlet at the time that the “Cloud Chaser” airship was a milestone in his vision of populating the upper reaches of the earth’s atmosphere with steerable balloons that could be used to provide early warnings of natural disasters, monitor pollution or carry out airborne surveillance.

“Look, there’s America,” Professor Wu said in an accompanying video, pointing on a computer screen to a red line that appeared to trace the airship’s path across Asia, northern Africa, and near the southern edge of the United States. By the time of the report, it was over the Pacific Ocean.

Professor Wu’s announcement is part of a body of evidence revealing in new detail the scope of the Chinese government’s ambitions to use high-altitude airships to track earthbound activities, with an eye on both domestic and military needs. Chinese media reports, academic studies and officials’ speeches suggest that Professor Wu has been central to China’s balloon development efforts.

 

 

[Randy W]

U.S. officials address mounting tensions between U.S. and China during Munich Security Conference

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.
• Blinken said the U.S. has information that suggests China is considering sending “lethal support” to Russia.
• The U.S. military shot down the high-altitude Chinese balloon on Feb. 4, and Blinken said Sunday that “there’s no doubt” the balloon was attempting to engage in active surveillance.

from CNBC

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“What is clear is that once the balloon was over the United States and flying basically west to east, it attempted to surveil very sensitive military sites. In some cases, it loitered or returned to them as it progressed east,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Blinken said he had a “very direct, very clear” conversation about the balloon with Wang, but that he did not receive a direct apology. Blinken said he thinks other countries “appreciate” the fact that the United States has “exposed” China’s balloon program.

“More than 40 countries have had these balloons go over their territories,” he told ABC’s “This Week.” “There’s a real concern that I’m hearing here from other countries.”

 . . .

Chinese aggression is also a concern in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Blinken said the U.S. has information that suggests China is considering sending “lethal support” to Russia.

He told NBC there are “various kinds” of lethal aid that China is considering providing, including weapons. Blinken said China has already been aiding Russia in more diplomatic ways, but that sending lethal aid would be a significant escalation.

“It was important for me to share very clearly with Wang Yi that this would be a serious problem,” Blinken told ABC.