(CTN News) – Days after the US military shot down a Chinese surveillance craft hovering above vital assets in the country, a media source claimed that China had operated a fleet of Chinese spy balloons targeting numerous nations, including India and Japan.
US officials have informed Indian authorities about the discovery of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was downed by a fighter aircraft off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean.
Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state, informed representatives from approximately 40 embassies about it on Monday.
“The surveillance balloon effort, which has been running for several years, partially out of Hainan Province off the south coast of China, has gathered data on military assets in nations and regions that are becoming increasingly important strategically to China, including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines “On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported.
Interviews with multiple unnamed defense and intelligence officials were the basis for The Post’s investigation.
These surveillance airships, which the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) air force operates in part, have reportedly been detected across five continents, according to officials, the newspaper stated.
These Chinese Spy balloons are all a part of a fleet of balloons used by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) for surveillance activities that also infringed on the sovereignty of other nations, “According to a senior defense official.
In addition to the one recorded last week, at least four Chinese Spy balloons have reportedly been seen above Hawaii, Florida, Texas, and Guam in recent years, according to the daily.
It said that three of the four occurrences occurred within the Trump administration, but the Chinese surveillance airships were only just discovered.
The high-altitude surveillance balloon was recovered on Tuesday, according to a sequence of images supplied by the Pentagon.
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