(Washington) The Chinese balloon shot down by the United States in February over the Atlantic did not gather intelligence while flying over American territory, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
“We now believe he did not collect any information while he was crossing or flying over the United States,” said US Department of Defense spokesman Pat Ryder.
The United States had “taken steps to limit” the balloon’s obtaining intelligence, he added, which “certainly helped”.
Pat Ryder did not provide further details on these measures.
PHOTO KEVIN WOLF, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Pat Ryder
This imposing balloon had crossed the United States from west to east, from Alaska to South Carolina, from the end of January to the beginning of February.
It had passed over strategic military installations.
The balloon was shot down on February 4 over the Atlantic and its debris was recovered by the US military, which has since studied its contents.
The incident had cast a chill in relations between Beijing and Washington. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had canceled a long-planned trip to China.
Washington had assured that it was a spy balloon, which Beijing had denied, saying that it had drifted unintentionally into American airspace.
At the time, an American official claimed that the device had several antennas, some of which were probably capable of picking up and geolocating communications.
In June, however, US President Joe Biden said he thought “Chinese leaders did not know” where the ball was or what it contained.
“I think it was more embarrassing than intentional,” he added.