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.
Randall Hill | Reuters
WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department on Friday announced new sanctions targeting six Chinese aerospace companies it identified as supporting the Chinese military’s reconnaissance balloon program.
companies participate Growing list of companies Based in China, which the US claims poses a serious threat to national security.
The sanctions announcement comes just hours after a US F-22 shot down a second “high-altitude object” last week and entered US airspace.
“China’s use of high-altitude balloons violates our sovereignty and threatens the national security of the United States,” said Alan Estevez, Vice Minister for Industry, Security and Commerce, using the People’s Republic of China acronym. said.
“Today’s actions make it clear that any entity seeking to violate the national security and sovereignty of the United States will be blocked from accessing U.S. technology,” Estevez said in a statement from the Department of Commerce.
The plane that was shot down on Friday was floating off the coast of Alaska. Last weekend, a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
However, the White House hesitated to characterize the aircraft involved in Friday’s incident as a balloon.
“We call it an object because that’s the best description we currently have,” said National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby.
The new sanctions reflect the government’s renewed focus on China’s unmanned airship surveillance program this week.
“Today’s actions demonstrate our concerted efforts to identify and disrupt the use of surveillance balloons by the United States and China that have violated the airspace of more than 40 countries,” said Matthew Axelrod, Export Executive. Assistant Secretary of Commerce said.
