US defense and intelligence agencies discovered that the balloon carried US gear, along with Chinese sensors, to collect and transmit information to China, according to the WSJ.
Since postponing a February trip due a suspected Chinese spy balloon entering US airspace, Blinken is the highest-ranking government official to visit China in the Biden administration.
‘Near space is a major sphere of competition between 21st century military powers,’ a Chinese military commentator wrote in a journal last year, as per The New York Times.
The object was first observed in Alaska Friday & US military officials closely tracked it before shooting it down Saturday over Yukon territory in Canada, said Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
After Kargil Review Committee's recommendation, air force purchased 2 aerostats worth over Rs 300 crore for surveillance in 2007. IAF favours AWACS for vigilance operations.
The US has linked the spy balloon episode to a more extensive Chinese surveillance programme, saying it has been used for spying in India, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
The report is based on interviews with several anonymous defence & intelligence officials, who said these Chinese-operated surveillance airships have been spotted over 5 continents.
Sometimes, we end up embroidering the truth as we overthink and overanalyse a fastidious lady’s personal wardrobe preferences for significant occasions.
No nation other than China can negotiate one-on-one with Trump on an equal footing. That’s why the middle powers who so far formed the core of multilateral bodies now feel orphaned.
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