Washington evokes a "fleet" of Chinese spy balloons
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, U.S. February 8, 2023. REUTERS - KEVIN LAMARQUE
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
According to Washington, the Chinese spy balloon shot down over the weekend was not a test shot.
On the contrary, it would be a "
fleet
", a large spy program from Beijing that would affect countries all over the world.
This is revealed by the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken this Wednesday, February 8 during a press conference with the Secretary General of NATO.
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With our correspondent in Miami,
David Thomson
Before making the information public, the United States warned a dozen allied countries, those whose territory has potentially been flown over by this fleet of Chinese spy balloons, like the one spotted last week above Montana and shot down in sea this weekend by an American hunter.
"
The United States was not the only target
," says Antony Blinken.
This vast program has violated the sovereignty of several countries and on the five continents, reveals the Secretary of State, in a press conference, after his meeting with the Secretary General of NATO in Austin, Texas.
For his part, Jens Stoltenberg expressed the concern of the countries of the Alliance in the face of an increase in China's espionage activities observed in Europe, whether by satellite or on the Internet.
And at the same time in Washington, the Pentagon confirmed that the spy balloon incident was not a trial run.
In recent years, at least four Chinese airships have been detected over sensitive military sites in the United States.
Statements made the day after the State of the Union address in which Joe Biden said that the United States does not seek conflict, but will not be intimidated by Beijing.
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To read also United States: what we know about the destruction of the Chinese balloon
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