Pentagon must explain if parts of Chinese spy balloon were made in US, Republicans say: Senators ‘disturbed’ by English writing and Western components on surveillance airship
- The State Department and the Pentagon briefed lawmakers on Thursday
- However, some Republican senators said they had not received answers to key questions
- They said officials have yet to say whether the balloon contained US components
Republican senators say the Biden administration still has questions to answer about the Chinese spy balloon after officials shrugged off inquiries about whether some of its components were made in the US
Senators Josh Hawley and Dan Sullivan made the claims after a secret briefing by Pentagon and State Department officials.
It comes as the government remains under fire for critics saying it was a hesitant response to the spy ship.
And on Friday, officials revealed a second unidentified object had been shot down, this time over Alaska.
Previously, Sullivan told reporters he was still asking questions about the first balloon.
Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Josh Hawley of Missouri said Biden administration officials have not answered questions about whether American components are in the Chinese spy balloon
The Chinese spy balloon was allowed to float over the US before being shot down by US jets
“American companies should not help build spy satellites to be used against their own citizens,” Sullivan said after the briefing.
“Maybe there’s nothing to say about that, but someone asked about it, and nobody, nobody in that briefing said, ‘Oh, it’s not a problem.
Biden compounded the controversy Thursday by taking the whole episode lightly.
In an interview with Noticias Telemundo, he said he had no regrets about shooting it down earlier.
“It’s not a major violation,” Biden said. “I mean, look, it’s totally … it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace.
“And once it comes into our space, we can do whatever we want with it.”
The 200-foot balloon and its cargo of electronic devices were shot down from the air by a US fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.
While American forces are recovering as much of the debris as they can, Republicans — and some Democrats — have kept up a barrage of questions.
Hawley said the briefing did not produce enough responses and said he remained concerned about American components in the balloon.
China continues to claim the ship was merely a stray weather balloon, but US intelligence has linked the balloon to a surveillance program directly linked to China’s main military power – the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 are recovering a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon that was shot down by the United States over US territorial waters off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina over the weekend
“I don’t think there was a definitive answer to that,” he told Fox News Digital. “But… the question was asked by a senator, and, you know, I think that’s a very, very disturbing possibility.”
The questions come after the balloon was revealed this week to have equipment capable of monitoring Americans’ communications.
“It had multiple antennas to incorporate an array likely capable of collecting and locating communications,” the official said.
“It was equipped with solar panels large enough to generate the energy needed to run multiple sensors to collect active information.”