Today. The Biden administration released new details on how it says
a Chinese balloon spied on the United States last week. But administration
officials also faced bipartisan questions from senators about why
they let it fly across the country instead of shooting it down earlier
Shiffrin is here now to discuss all of that. Good to see you. Thanks
very much. What did we learn today? What new details about how this
balloon worked? US. Officials say that this was part of an international
program at the Chinese have
Launched of spy balloons that they say flew across 40 countries across
five continents. The balloon that we're talking about here was 200
ft tall and had a jetliner size payload. And, according to a senior
State Department official, it was quote capable of conducting signals
intelligence collection operations. What does that mean? It means
it can pick up communications from US military bases as it flew over
them, the official said. Quote it had multiple antennas to include
an array
A likely capable of collecting and JIA locating communications and
solar panels large enough to produce the requisite power to operate
multiple active intelligence collection sensors. Officials say. They're
making this public something that they the intelligence community
has historically resisted because they are trying to pull back the
curtain on Chinese spine. They're trying to refute what Beijing said
today that the U. S. Was waging McCain campaign of
Quote information warfare.
Also today, the House of Representatives passed a resolution unanimously
that calls out China's quote, brazen violation of U. S sovereignty
and also efforts to deceive the international community through false
claims about its intelligence collection campaigns that shows on
at least on a general level. Washington's anger with Beijing right
so bipartisan support for that resolution, right? But not when it
comes to how the administration handles this when they chose to shoot
it down very much, not and especially on that last point, you just
said
When the administration chose to shoot it down. The balloon arrived
in U. S airspace on January 28th traverse through Canada, then reenter
the continental United States. It was 10 days on February 4th.
That an F 22 shot it down. And today we heard from the Senate in
the Appropriations Defense subcommittee that the anger that those
10 days what would the balloon was doing? The anger was bipartisan,
both from Montana, Democrat Jon Tester and Maine Republican Susan
Collins. I got a problem with the trainees balloon flying over
My state.
Much less arrest. The country it defies believe that there was not
a single opportunity to safely shoot down this spy balloon prior
to the coast of South Carolina publicly, the administration officials
have said that they didn't shoot it down earlier because of the risk
to people on the ground if it had shot it down, given the size, and
also that the military limited the balloons, ability to collect intelligence,
essentially that they shut down some of the
Communications in these bases as the balloon flew over those bases,
the military said the same today, But officials also made two additional
points in this hearing. They pointed out that Atlantic waters were
actually ideal to salvage the balloons so that they could collect
parts of the balloon to understand what it did, as opposed to waters
in Alaska, which were deeper, colder and covered with ice. Take a
listen to Melissa Dalton, the assistant secretary of defense for
homeland defense, if we had taken it down
Over the state of Alaska, which is part of the United States. It
would have been a very different recovery operation key part of the
calculus for this operation.
Was the ability to salvage understand and exploit the capabilities
of the high altitude balloon.
The military also made an additional point, which it doesn't often
talk about in public. The U. S spies on China. It flies satellites
over China. It flies aircraft off the coast of China. The US doesn't
want Beijing to start instinctively shooting at US assets that are
near China or above China, just like it doesn't want just like it
didn't fire instinctively at this balloon and take a listen to Lieutenant
General Douglas Sims, the director for operations on the Joint staff.
If we establish that precedent that precedent maybe met we may meet
the same precedent in which case as opposed to thinking and looking
and then reacting. We may create something in which we are is to
our detriment. But the balloon flying so low over U. S airspace and
the size of this program
are are unprecedented, as are the bipartisan questions of how the
administration has operate in the last week, which continue. Where
does this leave the relations between?
In U. S. And China Relations had been getting a little bit better
since President Biden met with Xi Jinping in November. But since
the balloon incident, Secretary Blinken canceled his trip. No rescheduling
yet Secretary Austin picked up the phone. No answer from Beijing.
And so it does seem like things are getting worse. But President
Biden last night to Judy Woodruff said, No, This is not
Changing U. S China relations and the officials. I talked to explain
that thinking one they still want dialogue with Beijing and two they
didn't learn anything. They didn't already know about Beijing from
this balloon. As Deputy Secretary of state, Wendy Sherman said today
China has become more oppressive at home, more aggressive abroad
and the balloon is just evidence of that, Shefrin. Thank you very