New footage shows Chinese spy balloons over Japan and Taiwan

Relations between the US and China were disrupted earlier this year when an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the US coast. According to the US, Chinese balloons are used to collect sensitive data.

China has claimed that the blimp seen over the northwest US in late January was a civilian blimp used for scientific research such as meteorology – and that it was an unintended and isolated event.

According to John Culver, a former East Asia analyst for the CIA, this “wasn’t a one-off event, but an ongoing effort going back at least five years.” Colfer says about BBC News that Chinese balloons were “specifically designed for these long-distance missions” and that some “apparently have flown around the world”.

BBC News He discovered, using satellite data through the company Synthetaic, multiple images of Chinese balloons crossing East Asia. For example, evidence of a balloon was found across northern Japan in early September 2021. These images have not been previously published.

Japan is a close ally of the United States. Many US forces are stationed there. Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that Japan “will take all measures to monitor the situation on a daily basis.” The country is willing to drop balloons to “protect the lives and property of people in Japan.”