The whole world was briefly under the spell of a Chinese ‘spy balloon’ that was suddenly spotted over American soil two weeks ago.
But what turns out? This balloon took off from the Chinese island of Hainan and was tracked for more than a week before crossing the US border. That’s what several anonymous sources say to The Washington Post.
Unusual wind direction
Analysts are now seriously considering the scenario that the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ accidentally ended up over the US, the American newspaper reports. China itself has always said that it was a weather balloon that had gone off course.
According to the information provided by the anonymous sources, the Chinese balloon was flying from the Chinese island near the US Pacific island of Guam after launch when it suddenly drifted north due to “unusual weather”. Then the balloon would have flown over Alaska and Canada, after which the balloon was sighted over the United States.
Diplomatic row
President Joe Biden ultimately decided to shoot down the balloon off South Carolina’s east coast. The last remains of the balloon were recovered yesterday.
Watch how the balloon was shot out of the sky here:
The incident sparked a diplomatic row between Washington and Beijing. The US secretary of state canceled his visit to China, while the Chinese authorities felt that Biden reacted overheated. According to The Washington Post, all of this could be, at least in part, the result of a glitch.
Other objects ‘harmless’
Since the balloon was shot down, the US Air Force has taken down three other unknown objects in recent weeks. Yesterday, the White House said in a press conference that these were “harmless” and almost certainly not Chinese spy equipment.
In recent weeks, however, it has become clear that China has been flying balloons over the US for years. That would also have happened during the presidency of Donald Trump. Meanwhile, China says the Americans are also flying spy balloons over Chinese territory.
