Almost a year after the Chinese spy balloon incident over the Atlantic, a recent report discloses that the Biden administration sought to keep the incident under wraps, according to a former US official.
As per NBC News, when the Chinese spy balloon was first spotted in the sky in January of the previous year, a former official from the Biden administration disclosed that there was a deliberate effort to hide the information from both the public and Congress.
HOLY CRAP this story per @NBCNews
When the Biden Admin discovered the Chinese spy balloon, they wanted to hide its existence from CONGRESS
Their plans were ruined by news outlets reporting on the balloon pic.twitter.com/vFtsvaOMpa
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) December 23, 2023
A previously undisclosed phone conversation on January 27 between Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck and Gen. Mark Milley uncovered an eight-day-long internal struggle within the Biden White House on how to handle the balloon. It was only after this phone call that the US military officially confirmed the balloon as a Chinese spy device equipped with surveillance equipment.
President Biden himself was reportedly informed on January 31, several days after the balloon was initially spotted and identified as originating from China. Reports about the balloon appearing over Montana emerged on February 2.
Following media coverage, public demands for the balloon to be shot down ensued, with even former President Trump posting on his Truth Social platform, urging to “Shoot down the balloon.”
The news of the balloon caused frustration among Republican lawmakers who were not briefed on the incident until after reports surfaced. This occurred just as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was preparing to visit Beijing.
China eventually issued an apology, claiming the balloon was a civilian weather vessel that had drifted off course due to force majeure. The incident raised concerns as the balloon managed to collect and transmit information back to China before the US took action to intercept it, despite the Biden administration’s efforts to prevent such activities.
Nearly a year later, on December 18, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller urged the United Nations-controlled International Civil Aviation Organization to prioritize work on higher airspace operations, expedite efforts to identify solutions for manned and unmanned aviation traffic in that airspace, and use the coming year to advance critical technical work in this area.
