Since the tracking and destruction of the Chinese spy balloon in early February, several unidentified objects have been seen in the American sky and shot down by the army, which communicates little about these intrusions, some of which are suspicious.
The United States has its eyes fixed on the sky. The army tracks any abnormal presence in the American sky since the intrusions, more or less suspicious, multiply. The last suspicious movement was on the evening of Sunday, February 12, when a fighter jet shot down “an unidentified object” octagonal in shape with ropes floating above Lake Huron, on the border between the State of Michigan and Canada. The device was disabled even though it posed no military threat according to the Pentagon. The army and the government have remained particularly discreet about the description and the nature of the object shot down, a silence which is beginning to irritate elected officials. This Monday, February 13, Congress calls on the government and demands more transparency on these air incidents.
The sequence began on February 1 with the identification of a Chinese balloon presented as a spy by the American authorities. After two days of sighting, the flying object was shot down over the Atlantic off South Carolina. Since then, four other intrusions have been spotted and thwarted by the American air force. Only the Chinese balloon turned out to be a spy device with the presence of equipment for capturing images and intercepting electromagnetic and telecommunications signals. No other objects have been identified. Pointing the finger, China returned the ball on February 13 accusing the United States of having violated its airspace. “Since last year alone, American balloons have flown over China more than 10 times without any permission,” spokesman for Chinese diplomacy Wang Wenbin told the media.
A Chinese balloon intended for espionage?
“We have no doubt that the ball comes from China,” Washington assured on February 3 about the Chinese ball. The United States also had no doubts about the spy nature of the flying object despite Beijing’s denial. While China acknowledged ownership of the balloon, it described it as a civilian aircraft used for primarily meteorological research. “As a responsible country, China has always strictly abided by international law and has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of a sovereign state,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. , Mao Ning, to AFP.
The analysis of the debris of the Chinese balloon, which was the size of three buses, has however made it possible to discover a pointed device capable of filming and intercepting signals. Before being shot down, the Chinese spy balloon had flown over “sensitive sites” such as air bases and strategic missile silos, including those located in the state of Montana, in the northwest of the United States, according to the senior official. of the American Defense quoted by AFP.
What other flying objects have entered the skies of the United States?
Of the three flying objects that entered American skies between February 10 and 12, none was described as a spy device by Washington. But all were shot down as a precaution, in particular because two of them represented a “threat to the safety of air traffic”. However, the American authorities do not completely rule out the idea of dealing with spy devices.
- An unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron, Michigan by US Air Force and National Guard pilots on Sunday, February 12.
- A cylindrical aircraft flying 12,000 meters above the Yukon, on the Canada-US border, was shot down on Saturday February 11 by an F-22 during a joint intervention between Canada and the United States . Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said analyzes of the object are underway.
- A “radar anomaly” was spotted in Montana on Saturday February 11 and resulted in the deployment of a fighter jet which “did not identify any objects [permettant] to correlate radar echoes,” according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
- An object “the size of a small car” was shot down over the Yukon on the border between Canada and Alaska on Friday February 10. The object posed a threat to civilian flight safety, according to the Pentagon, which said it had “no details about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin.”
Chinese balloons tense relations between the United States and China
The Chinese ball incident has reignited tensions between the two world powers. The intrusion of the flying object into American skies just days before Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to China was a sign for the United States that Beijing was not planning a “real change in policy” according to parliamentarians from the Republican and Democratic camps Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi. The Secretary of State finally postponed his visit – initially scheduled for February 5 – but promised to honor it as soon as “conditions permit” but several months could be necessary to observe improvements in Sino-American relations.
China, which finally acknowledged being the owner of the object presented as a civil aircraft, condemned the destruction of the balloon denouncing a “[violation grave] international practices” to which it authorizes itself to respond. No response has yet been observed. On February 13, after new intrusions into the United States, China shifted the blame to Washington, assuring that American power has several times violated Chinese airspace during the year 2022. Beijing does not give more details on these incidents and invites journalists to “refer to the American side”. The Chinese government, however, claims to have managed these incursions in a “responsible and professional”.