The Chinese balloon shot down by the United States in February over the Atlantic had not gathered intelligence while flying over American territory, the Pentagon said on Thursday. “We find today that he did not collect any information while he was traveling through or over the United States,” US Department of Defense spokesman Pat Ryder said.
The United States had “taken steps to limit” the balloon’s gaining intelligence, he added, which “certainly helped.” This imposing balloon had crossed the United States from west to east, from Alaska to South Carolina, from the end of January to the beginning of February. It had passed over strategic military installations.
The balloon was shot down on February 4 over the Atlantic and its wreckage was recovered by the US military, which has since studied its contents. The incident had cast a chill in relations between Beijing and Washington. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had canceled a long-planned trip to China. Washington had assured that it was a spy balloon, which Beijing had denied, saying that it had drifted unintentionally into American airspace.
At the time, an American official claimed that the device had several antennas, some of which were probably capable of picking up and geolocating communications. In June, however, US President Joe Biden said he believed “Chinese leaders didn’t know” where the ball was or what was inside. “I think it was more embarrassing than intentional,” he added.
