Chinese Spy Balloons Targeted India Also: Report

New Delhi: Just the other day, the US shot down a suspected spy Chinese balloon. Now it has emerged that China used spy balloons to target India, Japan and other countries also.

The Washington Post reported that US officials briefed its allies, including India, on the findings of Chinese surveillance balloon which was shot down by a fighter jet off South Carolina coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

Addressing 40 embassies in Washington, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said that the Chinese balloon operated over several years partly out of Hainan province and collected information on military assets of several countries.

“The surveillance balloon has collected information on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines,” The Post reported on Tuesday, based on interviews with several defence and intelligence officials.

A number of balloons have been spotted in the US in recent years, including the one tracked last week.