by Daniel Chaitin, Daily Wire:
Biden administration intelligence officials observed the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina ever since it took off, according to multiple reports.
U.S. monitors watched as the aircraft took off from Hainan Island near China’s south coast in late January nearly a week before it entered U.S. airspace, The New York Times reported, earlier than previously known. Follow-up reports by The Washington Post and CBS News indicate U.S. intelligence tracked the balloon moving east toward Guam, but it suddenly veered north toward Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
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BREAKING: CBS News has learned that U.S. intelligence watched the Chinese spy balloon as it lifted off near China’s south coast, meaning the U.S. military had been tracking it for nearly a week before it entered U.S. airspace. pic.twitter.com/oaR5yZIRwm
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 15, 2023
The balloon later crossed over the contiguous United States from Canada. The U.S. government first acknowledged the suspected reconnaissance balloon on February 2 as it was spotted over Billings, Montana, after which Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China in protest.
The U.S. military did not shoot the balloon down until it reached the Atlantic Ocean on February 4, as officials warned that downing the aircraft over land would lead to falling debris endangering people below.
While the U.S. assesses the object was a Chinese spy balloon, China claims it was a civilian research craft that was blown off course. Both countries have since accused each other of engaging in a widespread balloon spy-craft.
A senior State Department official said the Chinese balloon, which flew past U.S. military sites, was equipped with “multiple antennas” capable of collecting signals intelligence, according to NBC News.
