Democratic senators said on Monday China intended to intrude on U.S. airspace when balloons passed over the United States for several days in February, and plan to hold the Biden administration accountable. .
Sen. Jon Testor (D., Montana) turned to social media on Monday after reading an NBC article that said Chinese spy balloons had collected intelligence from multiple US military installations. , citing two senior US officials and one senior government official.
“We’ve always known that China’s airspace incursions were no accident,” Tester said. “There is nothing more important than keeping America safe.
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The NBC article noted that China could control the balloon and make multiple passes over the site before transmitting information to China in real time, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The same official told NBC that China could have gathered more intelligence from military installations had the Biden administration not attempted to intercept the electronic signals he deploys.
UNITED STATES – FEBRUARY 16: Chairman John Tester listens to Joshua D. Jacobs, the nominee for Veterans Administration Under Secretary of Human Services February 16, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Sabrina Singh, deputy spokeswoman for the Pentagon, was asked extensively about China’s ballooning at a news conference on Monday.
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She echoed an early comment that the balloon could hover and steer so it could intentionally follow a specific trajectory.
“What we have done is we have taken precautions to limit the intelligence value that can be collected,” Singh said. “…we have taken steps to protect our military installations from foreign intelligence gathering.”
A suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts into the ocean after it was shot down off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, USA, on February 4, 2023. (Image of the Day from REUTERS/Randall Hill TPX)
She went on to say that, thanks to the measures taken, the United States was able to prevent transmission of certain aspects of the site, but could not answer as to what was transmitted to China.
“We are still assessing the exact information that China has been able to gather,” Xin said. “However, we know that the steps we took added little value to what they were able to collect.”
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She said the data is being analyzed in Quantico, Virginia, but it’s unclear when it will be available.
