CNN —The Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the United States earlier this year before it was shot down did not collect intelligence while flying over the country, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“We believe that (the balloon) did not collect while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States, and certainly the efforts that we made contributed,” Ryder told reporters at a briefing.
At the time, Washington had signaled that the balloon did not present a significant intelligence gathering risk.
Ryder on Thursday did not get into specifics regarding recent reports that the Chinese high-altitude balloon was using US surveillance technology, but said such a situation would not be surprising.
China slammed the remarks, which came on the heels of Blinken’s visit, as an “open political provocation” and repeated their denial that the balloon was meant to spy over the United States.
Persons:
Pat Ryder, “, ” Ryder, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Ryder, ”, ” Biden, Xi Jinping “, Xi, Blinken’s
Organizations:
CNN, Pentagon
Locations:
United States, Washington, American, South Carolina, Beijing, China, stoke