Fox News Digital was informed by U.S. officials that it was not clear that the Chinese spy balloon was coming to America. This response to reports that intelligence agencies had been following the flight from its launch.
Recent reports have revealed that U.S. intelligence viewed the takeoff from China of the spy ballon that flew across America and was then shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
Fox News Digital was told by U.S. officials that the intelligence community was “tracking” it, but that it wasn’t clear if it was coming to the US.
Officials also stated that the action to bring down the Chinese spy ball was taken within U.S. Airspace against an unmanned foreign surveillance aircraft that had entered and was operating illegally in US airspace.” They added that this was how they “exercised their right to bring it down.”
In response to Fox News Digital’s questions about why the Chinese spy ballon wasn’t downed earlier, if the intelligence agency had been following it since its launch, the officials doubled down and said that the balloon was not heading towards the U.S.
CBS News reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence viewed the Chinese spy balloon fly near China’s southern coast, before it made its way towards Alaska.
The timeline indicates that the U.S. had been following the spy balloon for almost a week before it entered American airspace.
Wednesday’s threat by the People’s Republic of China was to take legal action against U.S. agencies that destroyed and recovered one of its surveillance balloons.
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the vague threat at a press conference.
Wang stated that China strongly opposes the U.S. actions and will take countermeasures to protect China’s sovereignty, security and sovereignty.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been harshly critical of the U.S. government’s handling of the situation over the past weeks. They accuse government officials of making a spectacle of a delicate situation.
Wang didn’t elaborate on the “countermeasures” being proposed, but he promised that the communist country would “resolutely protect national sovereignty and its legitimate interests.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has discussed the daily topic of the surveillance balloon that was shot down by the U.S. Government on February 4, over waters off South Carolina.