‘Spy balloon’ found in US part of China’s massive surveillance campaign

Washington: The United States has claimed that the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ found in the US is part of China’s massive global surveillance campaign. The US intelligence agencies have alleged that the campaign is being run from a base in China’s Hainan province, and China has carried out surveillance in about 12 countries through ‘spy balloons’. China has strongly reacted to these allegations and said the US is playing a propaganda war by giving false information.

'spy balloon' Last month, China’s spy balloon infiltrated the US through the US border of the Alaskan state. After this, it was found that there was brief surveillance on the Canadian border and then an infiltration occurred in the US state of Idaho and Montana. Last Saturday, a US F-22 fighter jet used a supersonic missile to blow up a Chinese spy balloon. The search operation for its remains is still underway. However, tensions between the US and China have peaked over the incident and sparked a row of verbal conflicts between the two countries.

Two days ago, the US media revealed that China had previously sent ‘spy balloons’ across the US border. After that, the US agencies took the lead and claimed China had launched such a massive surveillance campaign not only in the US but all over the world. The United States said China has carried out surveillance by sending spy balloons to about 12 countries worldwide, including the United States. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also confirmed it. “The United States is not the sole target of China’s campaign. Countries from five continents of the world have become the target of China’s campaign,’ US Secretary of State Blinken said. The department said US officials had even informed concerned countries about it.

'spy balloon'

The US agencies said the spy balloons are being released from a base in China’s Hainan province, and a kind of military technology has been used in it. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been focusing on increasing the movements in the ‘near space’ area between the earth and space for the last decade. It has also undertaken the development of different technology and facilities for it. ‘Spy balloon’ is a part of it, and China has increased its use over the last decade. According to the US, China has also used it in countries like Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, India and Canada.

China has reacted sharply to the US claims. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has criticized these claims saying they are part of a propaganda war.

Meanwhile, Australia has decided to remove Chinese surveillance cameras outside buildings attached to the country’s defence bases and Defence Ministry. The Australian Defence Ministry said the decision was taken considering the safety concerns. During the preliminary assessment, the country found more than 900 Chinese surveillance cameras installed in more than 250 buildings that are part of the Australian government. Previously, the United States and the United Kingdom had also decided to remove surveillance cameras of Chinese companies.

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