Downed Balloon Belonged to Chinese Military, Part of Major Espionage Program: Fox News

Over the weekend, the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina was part of a major intelligence program conducted by the Chinese military. This information was reported by Fox News, citing senior officials from the U.S. military and national security.

The network noted that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has primarily conducted reconnaissance via balloons, including over territories in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and India.

Previously, surveillance balloons have also appeared in U.S. airspace, used for intelligence gathering. Another Chinese spy balloon was detected four months ago after it fell into the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian Islands.

“We are now learning more about the scale of this Chinese program for monitoring via balloons,” stated Department of Defense spokesperson, General Patrick Ryder.

Earlier, the U.S. administration announced that Chinese authorities are using reconnaissance balloons over five continents, violating the sovereignty of numerous nations. The Chinese balloon was shot down on February 4, after spending several days in U.S. airspace. Beijing has claimed that the balloon was civilian and had inadvertently entered U.S. airspace.