Much of that Chinese spy balloon that the Air Force took out off the coast of South Carolina last February was made in the good old U.S.A. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that its sources told them the gondola slung below the helium-filled envelope was “crammed” with off-the-shelf gear made in the U.S. and probably ordered online. The sources also said that the Chinese-made sensors and cameras collected a trove of data but it appears none of it was sent back to China.
The military had said that it would release a report on the balloon but that doesn’t seem likely now. Last month Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China on a trip that was initially canceled because of the balloon incident. When he was asked if he discussed it with the Chinese officials he said that he had and that would be the end of it. “We said what we needed to say and made clear what we needed to make clear in terms of this not happening again, and so long as it doesn’t, that chapter should be closed,” Blinken told CBS.
Props to Blinken for managing to rephrase “Nothing to see here!!!!!”
Can we pause for a moment to marvel at the irony of a Chinese “export” having U.S. made anything on it??
Next time be more careful, Mr. Jinping…
Chinese spies posing as tourists trying to get access to our bases are caught with surveillance equipment (i.e. as in drone), can leave sensors behind, as well, so says retired general Dave Deptula. Just do a search, folks. To bad actors, signs of weakness, are opportunities of encouragement.
https://nypost.com/2023/06/02/suspected-chinese-spies-tried-to-enter-alaskan-bases-report/
“Much . . . was made in the good old U.S.A”
Perhaps help with that USA/China balance of trade thing?
Funny that back in April they were saying that the “raft of antennas and sensors” aboard the spy balloon were “unidentifiable”. Now they are saying that these are all commercial off the shelf items from the US. We are helping them spy on us.
Let that sink in.
The US military has always had difficulty identifying off the shelf hardware that might serve their purposes.
Where did the Chinese even find any US made sensors? Whenever I’m looking online for electronic tschotschkes they all seem to be made in China.
Rubbing our face in it by using US equipment was their way of insulting us because they know their boy in the Oval Office.
Is he really their boy?
May be not and I dont think so.
But a facilitator that doesn’t see the dangers that the facilities can cause to the occident, may be.
“…Chinese-made sensors and cameras collected a trove of data but it appears none of it was sent back to China.”
Then just when, where and how did they expect to retrieve that recorded data if not transmitted? Doesn’t seem to be a great Plan A.
And another gigantic hoo-ha fades into history, carrying with it vast stores of the unlikely and largely fact-free speculations that masqueraded as “news” day after day.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say they probably meant to say “US gear” that was made in Taiwan…
I am going to speculate that it was a negotiated joint press release. Anything is possible, except the truth, that results from “negotiations”. The goal was to make each side “look good”. Saving Face?