The US intelligence and military tracked the downed Chinese balloon for a week from the moment it took off from Hainan Island. This was reported by the newspaper on February 14 The Washington Post.
It is noted that the United States of America admits the possibility of an accidental entry of a PRC balloon into the airspace of the country.
On the night of February 3, a huge balloon was seen in the sky over American territory.
On February 4, it became known that the object was shot down off the east coast of the country on the orders of US President Joe Biden. The Pentagon said it examined the equipment on the balloon, establishing that it was used for intelligence gathering.
In turn, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied this statement on February 6. The agency said in a statement that the purpose of the balloon is “civilian in nature.” The probe, in particular, was used for meteorological research. A serious introduction was made to Washington in connection with the incident. The ministry said the incident damaged relations between the two countries.
After that, the United States and other countries began to regularly report the discovery of objects that looked like huge balloons.
On February 12, the Pentagon spotted another unidentified object over Lake Huron near the border with Canada. The department said they were following him. Later that day, the object was shot down by fighter jets.
The day before, on February 11, an unidentified object was spotted in the airspace over Canada. The armed forces of Canada and the United States shot down an aerial target over the Yukon Territory in the northwest of the country. The soldiers removed the wreckage of the device for further study.
On February 10, the US military also spotted a balloon in the airspace over Alaska, after which they shot down the aircraft. The object was tracked for 24 hours and shot down on the US-Canada border – over the northeastern part of the region.
Meanwhile, on Feb. 14, White House National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby stressed that Washington does not seek conflict with Beijing in the wake of the downed balloon incident. Kirby noted that the US intends to keep channels of communication with China open.
At the same time, the official press secretary of the White House, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that the three unidentified objects shot down in the airspace of the United States and Canada did not pose a threat to the country’s security and, most likely, were associated with commercial or scientific activities.
The news is being supplemented
