INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States said Wednesday that suspected Chinese spy balloons like the one it shot down became part of a fleet that has covered
five continents, as NATO took part voicing concern.Pointing to global implications of the event that has animated the United States,
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was offering information to allies as it evaluates the recuperated debris
We currently shared info with lots of nations around the world, both from Washington and through our embassies, Blinken stated
Were doing so because the United States was not the only target of this more comprehensive program, which has actually violated the
sovereignty of countries throughout five continents, he told a joint press conference with NATOs visiting chief.White House Press Secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking individually to reporters on Air Force One, described the balloons as part of a fleet and said they had been
spotted around the globe for several years.A substantial white balloon bring sophisticated devices passed through the continental United
States last week prior to President Joe Biden bought the military to shoot it down simply off the east coast in the Atlantic.China insists
that the balloon was simply performing weather condition research, but the Pentagon described it as a high-tech spying operation
The balloon drifted at an altitude far greater than the majority of airplanes and crossed directly over a minimum of one sensitive US
military site.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, whose see to Washington followed a trip to Japan and South Korea, said the balloon
revealed the requirement for nations across the alliance to secure themselves
The Chinese balloon over the United States confirms a pattern of Chinese habits where we see that China over the last years has actually
invested heavily in brand-new military capabilities, Stoltenberg said
Weve likewise seen increased Chinese intelligence activities in Europe
They use satellites, they use cyber and, as weve seen over the United States, likewise balloons
We just have to be vigilant, he said.Stoltenberg also issued a new caution that China was drawing lessons from the war in Ukraine, which
NATO countries have actually been supporting as it fights back Russian intruders
What takes place in Europe today might take place in Asia tomorrow, Stoltenberg said, indicating Chinas pressure on Taiwan, the
self-governing democracy claimed by Beijing.The Washington Post, estimating United States officials, reported that the Chinese security
program has actually been run partially out of the southern island of Hainan.Updating old innovation, the balloons have actually been used
to monitor the military properties of close-by rivals such as Japan, India and Taiwan, the newspaper said.Biden, in his State of the Union
address on Tuesday, said that his orders to shoot down the balloon showed that the United States would not be reluctant to act when
needed.But he also worried that the United States did not want dispute with China
The balloon episode led Blinken to delay a trip to China in which he had intended to work at relieving tensions.China, which voiced remorse
about the air invasion but later denounced the US decision to down it, responded to Biden that it would also securely protect its
interests.US authorities said they took procedures to avoid the balloons instruments from collecting confidential information throughout its
flight.They state that the choice to wait till the balloon reached water was the only method to guarantee the security of people on the
ground.Bidens Republican competitors state he ought to have bought the balloon to be damaged as quickly as it was identified.
