(CNSNews.com) – Chinese spy balloons have violated countries’ sovereignty on five continents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, adding that the U.S. government has already begun discussing last week’s incursion over the United States with dozens of other countries.
Blinken told reporters at the State Department that analysis of the remnants of the balloon that was shot down on Saturday – and are now being recovered by the U.S. Navy off the South Carolina coast – would be paired with intelligence gleaned through careful observation while it floated through U.S. airspace in the days before it was downed.
“We are getting more information almost by the hour as we continue to work to salvage the balloon,” he said. “We’re learning from that, and, as well, we’re learning from what we saw and picked up as the balloon traversed the United States.”
Blinken said the administration would share relevant findings with Congress and with allies and partners around the world.
“We’ve already shared information with dozens of countries around the world both from Washington and through our embassies. We’re doing so because the United States was not the only target of this broader program which has violated the sovereignty of countries across five continents.”
Asked if the U.S. believes Chinese President Xi Jinping was himself aware of the balloon incursion and if the aerial surveillance network was a PLA Air Force operation, Blinken replied that “China” was responsible.
“It doesn’t matter on one level which individuals may or may not have been responsible,” he said. “The fact is China engaged in this irresponsible action, a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and international law.”
“And as we’ve noted as well, we’re not alone in this: Countries across five continents have also had surveillance balloons overfly their territory, which is why we’re sharing this information with others.”
Officials in Beijing have stated that the balloon was a “civilian” airship used for meteorological research which had unintentionally blown off course – a claim the Pentagon has flatly rejected.
“I can assure you this was not for civilian purposes,” Pentagon press secretary Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Wednesday. “We are 100 percent clear about that.”
Ryder also said that he would not be surprised if Beijing “starts to reevaluate its dirigible collection program” following last week’s shoot-down.
Alongside Blinken at Wednesday’s press availability was visiting NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, who was asked if he was concerned about the presence of Chinese surveillance balloons over European members of the alliance.
“The Chinese balloon over United States confirms a pattern of Chinese behavior, where we see that China over the last years has invested heavily in new military capabilities, including different types of surveillance and intelligence platforms,” Stoltenberg replied.
He said that NATO has observed “increased Chinese intelligence activities in Europe,” using various means.
“They use satellites, they use cyber, and – as we’ve seen over the United States – also balloons.”
Stoltenberg said NATO allies need to respond to Chinese intelligence gathering operations “in a prudent, responsible, and vigilant way.”
President Biden says he gave orders to the Pentagon last Tuesday to bring down the balloon, and a U.S. Air Force jet shot it down once it had crossed the coastline four days later, a delay criticized by Republican lawmakers.
The White House cited the need to avoid the risk of debris harming Americans on the ground, and said Biden also ordered close observation of the balloon over the days before the shoot-down, “so that we would learn more about China's capabilities and tradecraft,” in the words of press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
At a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning repeated China’s position that the shoot-down was “unacceptable and irresponsible.”
“I would also like to stress that exaggerating or hyping up the ‘China threat’ narrative is not conducive to building trust or improving ties between our two countries, nor can it make the U.S. safer,” she said.
Mao may have been alluding to Biden’s comment during his State of the Union address that “as we made clear last week, if China’s threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country – and we did.”
Asked about the U.S. government briefing other nations about the balloon incident, Mao said only that China hopes it will “communicate with other countries based on facts.”
At his press appearance with Blinken, Stoltenberg also spoke more generally about the challenges posed by China.
Beijing was “watching closely” to see how the Western allies were responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “and learning lessons that may influence its future decisions,” he said.
“So, what happens in Europe today could happen in Asia tomorrow. China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons without any transparency,” he said.
“It is attempting to assert control over the South China Sea and threatening Taiwan, trying to take control of critical infrastructure, including in NATO countries, repressing its own citizens and tramping on human rights, and deepening its strategic partnership with Moscow.”
Stoltenberg last week visited Japan and South Korea, a visit which Blinken said on Wednesday demonstrated “the growing synergy between our Atlantic and Pacific alliances.”
Beijing has accused NATO of stirring up trouble in East Asia, well outside its zone of interest.