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U.S. Blacklists 6 Chinese Companies Over Spying Balloon Program
(CTN NEWS) – BEIJING – In response to an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon that crossed U.S. airspace, the United States blacklisted six Chinese businesses it claimed were connected to Beijing’s aerospace projects on Friday.
The Biden administration’s promise to consider more measures to combat Chinese monitoring activities was followed by economic constraints.
Making it more challenging for the five corporations and one research institute to purchase American technology exports.
The action will likely intensify the diplomatic spat between the United States and China brought on by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend off the coast of North Carolina.
Beijing maintains that the balloon was a weather craft that had veered off course, despite the U.S. claim that it was geared to detect and gather intelligence signals.
In this image provided by the FBI, FBI special agents assigned to the evidence response team process material recovered from the high altitude balloon recovered off the coast of South Carolina, Feb. 9, 2023.(FBI via AP, File)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken hastily postponed a crucial trip to Beijing to defuse tensions due to the incident.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, the six organizations were singled out for “their support of China’s military modernization initiatives, particularly the PLA’s aerospace programs, including airships and balloons.”
It claimed that the PLA is using high Altitude Balloons (HAB) for espionage and surveillance purposes.
Don Graves, the deputy secretary of commerce, stated on Twitter that his agency “would not hesitate to continue to apply” such limitations along with other regulatory and enforcement measures “to preserve U.S. national security and sovereignty.”
The Commerce Department will not hesitate to continue to use the Entity List and our other
regulatory and enforcement tools to protect U.S. national security and sovereignty.More from @BISgov: https://t.co/9hl5quQMxP https://t.co/7AL0AtqwKa
— Deputy Secretary Don Graves (@DepSecGraves) February 10, 2023
The 6 Blacklisted Companies Are:
- Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology Co.,
- China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute,
- Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology Co.,
- Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co.,
- Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology Co.,
- Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co.
The research institute did not immediately answer an inquiry for comments. Unable to be reached were the other five entities.
/ GETTY IMAGE
On instructions from President Joe Biden, a U.S. military fighter jet downed an unidentified object flying off the isolated northern coast of Alaska on Friday.
Instead of any information that it was conducting surveillance, the object was shot down because it purportedly presented a threat to commercial aviation security.
However, the two incidents happened so quickly after one another highlights the public’s pressure on Vice President Biden to take a harsh stance against China’s spying program.
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