NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to the news media on June 1, 2022, as Secretary of State Anthony Brinken welcomes Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, USA.
Leah Millis | Reuters
WASHINGTON – A Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the United States last week poses a security challenge to NATO’s alliance of 30 member states and the rest of the world, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. said on Wednesday.
“Ballooning over the United States is a big investment as China invests heavily in new capabilities, including various types of surveillance and intelligence platforms,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., next to the U.S. Secretary of State. It confirms China’s pattern of behavior that suggests it is.” Anthony Brinken.
“We need to be aware of the constant risks of China’s intelligence activities and step up what we should do to protect ourselves and respond in a prudent and responsible manner,” he said. He added that China’s intelligence activities are on the rise.
U.S. officials have long complained that Chinese companies are a beneficiary of the People’s Republic of China and are collecting classified information on behalf of the People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese Communist Party has previously said it did not carry out espionage.
Stoltenberg said China was building its military and nuclear capabilities “without transparency.”
“China seeks to assert sovereignty over the South China Sea, threaten Taiwan, control critical infrastructure, including in NATO countries, oppress its own people, trample on human rights, and deepen its strategic partnership with Russia.” he said. “So NATO allies have real concerns that we discuss today.”
Stoltenberg’s remarks came as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard completed recovery operations for a reconnaissance balloon that was shot down about six miles off the coast of South Carolina. On Saturday, Biden ordered a 200-foot-tall reconnaissance balloon lifted from the sky. In this operation, an F-22 fighter pierced the bottom of the balloon with a Sidewinder missile.
Seafarers assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 retrieve a high-altitude surveillance balloon February 5, 2023, off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Photo: U.S. Navy
Pentagon spokesman, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General. General Pat Ryder said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called his Chinese counterpart on Saturday after a military mission. Chinese officials did not accept the call.
Blinken said U.S. intelligence agencies are studying the balloons and the U.S. will continue to update allies and countries around the world that may have fallen victim to Chinese espionage.
“The United States was not the only target of this widespread program that is violating the sovereignty of nations on five continents,” said Blinken.
“We are again hearing from our partners that in our engagement, the world expects China and the United States to manage our relationship responsibly, which is exactly what we were trying to do. We will continue to urge China to do the same.”
Hours before Blinken traveled to Beijing last week, the Biden administration announced that the trip would be postponed indefinitely. He was scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart, potentially Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Beijing.
“The presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty and international law, and it is unacceptable that this has happened,” a senior government official said in a telephone call with reporters. added that it was not possible to under such conditions.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States would reconsider a visit to China at a later date and was open to dialogue with Beijing for now.
