Only the first object so far has been attributed to Beijing.
WHAT HAS BEEN RECOVERED?
Military teams working from planes, boats and minisubs are scouring the shallow waters off South Carolina for the first object, and military images showed the recovery of a large piece of balloon. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking custody of the debris for analysis.
Operations to recover the second object continue on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska. “Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow and limited daylight, are a factor,” the military said.
Recovery teams – backed by a Canadian CP-140 patrol aircraft – are searching for debris from the third object in the Yukon, Anand said on Saturday.
The Pentagon said the FBI is working closely with Canadian police.
No information was immediately available about recovery of the fourth object.
WHAT WAS THE OBJECTS’ PURPOSE?
US officials say images of the first balloon show it had surveillance equipment that could intercept telecommunications. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was intended “to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States”.
A former chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, suggested China, or some in its military leadership, intentionally wanted to subvert an impending visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The US has said the balloons were part of a “fleet” that has spanned five continents. Some analysts say it may be the start of a major Chinese surveillance effort targeting foreign military capabilities ahead of possible acute tensions over Taiwan in coming years.
WHY SO MANY OBJECTS NOW?
Analysts said US and Canadian intelligence constantly receive huge amounts of raw data, and generally screened some out to focus on the threat of incoming missiles, not slow-moving objects like balloons.
“Now, of course, we’re looking for them. So I think we’re probably finding more stuff,” Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC.
Officials have said three balloons are now known to have briefly overflown US territory during Donald Trump’s administration – undetected at the time – and one earlier in Joe Biden’s term.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON US-CHINA TIES?
The US scrapped Blinken’s visit, intended to stabilise severely strained relations, and has sanctioned six Chinese entities believed to support military spy balloon programs.
Beijing denounced the first balloon’s downing, saying it “seriously violated international practice”. It reserved the right “to use necessary means to deal with similar situations”.
There has been no Chinese reaction to the latest downings.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
