And two. The Chinese government confirmed on Monday, February 6, that the balloon flying over Latin America, detected by the United States, belonged to it. According to Beijing, it is not espionage but a tool “of a civilian nature”. It’s hard to believe that these explanations will be enough to ease the tensions. Between China and Washington, nothing has gone right since the discovery of a first “spy” balloon over American territory. This one was shot down by the American army on Saturday February 4, immediately triggering the wrath of the Chinese government. But what are these balloons really for? Decryption with Emmanuel Véron, doctor in geography and specialist in contemporary China.
L’Express: Beijing assured that it was weather balloons. Is this their real role?
Emmanuel Veron: No, not only. The machine shot down by the United States is a stratospheric sounding balloon. It is equipped with several tools, which allow it to perform different functions. It can effectively take meteorological measurements, but also do imagery, military intelligence, intercept communications… In addition to that, it is able to exchange with satellites, planes and ground devices. So it’s not just a weather balloon. Its use may well fall within the scope of espionage, as indicated by the United States. And it is likely that the balloon flying over Latin America will be of the same ilk.
Precisely, a first balloon was spotted above the United States, another flies over Latin America… How many does China have?
We don’t have quantity information. But we know that China has been developing these balls for several years already, like other world powers. China Electronics Technology Group (CETC) is working on it. Only, this episode with the United States shows that Beijing does not master technology to the end.
China did not let one of its balloons “drift”, contrary to what it claims. To follow such a trajectory, the machine had to be programmed, not to mention that it is able to communicate with devices on the ground. On the other hand, it is quite possible that she “lost” it. She would have liked to approach it from the American borders, and control of the ball would have escaped her. She was caught red-handed.
If China has been developing these balloons for several years, does it use them regularly? Is it possible that one of them has already flown over France?
The Americans say they have known for a long time that China uses these balloons. According to them, many areas were flown over, in the five continents. In France, we have no information. Either no ball was detected or the data is kept secret. In any case, this is the first time that a machine of this type has been spotted and shot down.