The United States cannot confirm reports China was able to collect real-time data from a spy balloon as it flew over sensitive military sites earlier this year, the Biden administration says.
Key points:
- The White House says experts are still analysing debris from the balloon
- China denies the balloon that flew over United States and Canada for a week was a a government spy vessel
- The balloon was shot down by the US on February 4
NBC News reported on Monday that the Chinese balloon was able to transmit data back to Beijing in real time despite the US government’s efforts to prevent it from doing so — a disclosure that could deepen Republican criticism of US President Joe Biden for waiting for the balloon to reach a safe location before shooting it down.
NBC cited two current senior US officials and one former senior administration official.
The White House and the Pentagon told reporters they could not confirm that account.
The Pentagon said experts were still analysing debris collected from the balloon after it was shot down on February 4.
“I could not confirm that there was real-time transmission from the balloon back to [China] at this time,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said, adding “that’s something we’re analysing right now”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to’ request for comment.
The balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel, spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before the US military shot it down off the Atlantic Coast on Mr Biden’s orders.
Reuters has reported that the US officials believe the high-altitude balloon was controlled by Beijing and was able to manoeuvre as it flew over the United States, at times steering left or right.
At the time US officials played down the balloon’s impact on national security, saying the government took measures to limit its ability to collect information on sensitive US sites.
It also played down the idea that the balloon was more capable of collecting information than Chinese spy satellites, while acknowledging the balloon’s ability to loiter longer over US locations than a satellite.
The Chinese balloon incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing, and further strained relations between Washington and Beijing.
The episode caused an uproar in Washington and led the US military to search the skies for other objects that were not being captured on radar.
The FBI has taken the lead in analysis since the US said on February 17 that it had successfully concluded recovery efforts off South Carolina to collect sensors and other debris from the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon.
Reuters