The craft would have taken off from Hainan Island in southern China. It would have flown over the American territory of Guam, an island which hosts several American military bases.
By AFP
Ihe U.S. military has been tracking what it suspects is a Chinese spy balloon since it took off, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials as unnamed sources. The balloon had been shot down on February 4.
The craft would have taken off from Hainan Island in southern China. It would have flown over the American territory of Guam, an island which hosts several American military bases. Continuing over the Pacific Ocean, it approached the Aleutian Islands, near Alaska. Part of Canada was flown over and, due to strong winds, the balloon ended up over the American continent.
According to the daily, experts are currently examining whether China really intended to fly this balloon over America.
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The machine was shot down on February 4 by an F-22 fighter jet off South Carolina. For Washington, there is no doubt that it was a Chinese spy balloon, entered the American territory for several days before being shot down. Beijing for its part assured that it was a civil aircraft used for research purposes, mainly meteorological.
The incident did nothing to ease already strained US-China relations. China has also claimed that American balloons have violated its airspace more than a dozen times since the beginning of 2022.
Spy balloon: The low-cost threat the Pentagon knowingly ignores
