The Pentagon said that China’s balloon shot down over the United States in February did not collect intelligence

The Chinese balloon that was shot down in February over the United States did not collect or transmit intelligence data, the Pentagon concluded. This was stated by the official representative of the department Patrick Ryder, write “RIA News”.

According to Ryder, it was equipped with intelligence equipment, but the Pentagon concluded that it “did not collect while flying over the United States.”

The first balloon, which belonged to the PRC, was shot down on February 4. After that, Beijing strongly protested and urged to avoid further actions that escalate tensions and harm the interests of the PRC.

Another US military target was shot down on February 10 over Alaska near the Canadian border. A third unidentified object was struck over Canada on the orders of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 12. The origin of the object was not specified. On the night of February 13, an American F-15 shot down the fourth object in the Lake Huron area near the border with Canada. The Pentagon then noticed that the object was flying over military infrastructure and posed a threat because of its “potentially available reconnaissance capabilities.”

In June, Chinese hot air balloons again sparked controversy. June 20 Media reportedthat US President Joe Biden called Xi Jinping a dictator when discussing the February incident with a Chinese balloon shot down by the US military. These words were spoken in California at a meeting that Biden organized to raise funds for his presidential campaign. The Chinese Foreign Ministry then protested to Washington, stating that such statements are “extremely absurd, extremely irresponsible, contradict the facts, seriously violate diplomatic etiquette, are a serious attack on China’s political dignity and an open political provocation.”