China’s Balloon Was Capable of Spying on Communications, US Says

The Chinese balloon that traversed the US was capable of collecting communications signals and was part of a military-led spy program that spanned more than 40 countries, Biden administration officials said.

The Biden administration presented the new evidence in a State Department fact sheet on the balloon’s capabilities and in open hearings and closed briefings on Capitol Hill Thursday, as they sought to counter China’s insistence that it was a harmless weather-monitoring device that blew off course.

To make the case, the administration offered rarely disclosed details, including that high-resolution imagery provided by U-2 spy planes flying past the balloon revealed an array of surveillance equipment. That equipment could collect and geo-locate communications, and a solar array gave enough power to operate multiple collection sensors, officials said.

“This irresponsible act put on full display what we’ve long recognized as the PRC has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told lawmakers, referring to China’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China.

US officials are now trying to expose and counter what they see as broader Chinese spying efforts alongside allies. They are also looking at taking action against Chinese entities linked to the intelligence-gathering effort after identifying a Chinese balloon manufacturer that sells products to the Chinese military, according to the administration.

In a finding that raises new questions about the provenance of the balloon’s components, administration officials told lawmakers that the balloon had western-made components with English-language writing on them, people familiar with the matter said.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the writing was discovered before the balloon was shot down Saturday or found in the wreckage afterward. Recovery operations for the balloon’s payload continued.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is combing through the debris, but FBI officials who briefed reporters on Thursday said the review is in its early stages and agents haven’t yet seen the balloon’s main payload.

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