Call China's Not New Monitoring Basin Program This Time, Pentagon Spokesperson: I Can Get That's Not For Civil

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick S. Rayder. (Wikimedia Commons/DoD/US Army/Sgt. James K. McCann)

JAKARTA - The Chinese balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina by the United States was part of a major surveillance program Beijing has carried out for several years, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

When similar balloons passed through the US territory four times during the Administration of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the US did not immediately identify them as Chinese reconnaissance balloons, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, reported The National News on February 9.

Brigadier General Ryder said further intelligence analysis allowed the US to confirm they were part of China's spy efforts and learn "more" about the program.

Not providing new details about the previous balloons, Brigadier General Ryder simply said that the balloons flew over "the sites that would appeal to China."

One of the incidents may have occurred last February, when Major General Kenneth Hara, Ajudan Jenderal in Hawaii, tweeted about balloons above Kauai a year ago.

Major General Hara said US Indo-Pacific Command "detected high-altitude objects floating in the air around the Hawaiian Islands" and sent planes to intercept them.

He said they confirmed it was an unmanned balloon without identification.

Brigadier General Ryder declined to say whether it was one of the four previous incidents that had been discussed by the US.

Meanwhile, balloons were recently shot down by US military fighter jets on Saturday. The Navy and Coast Guard are still collecting pieces of balloons off the coast of South Carolina for analysis.

China claims it was a civilian balloon used for weather research, criticizing Washington for shooting its fall.

"I can assure you that this is not for civilian purposes... we are 100 percent sure about that," he said on Wednesday.

Separately, top administration officials briefed members of Congress on China's balloon surveillance program in a secret session on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US briefed dozens of countries on the program, which officials said was active on five continents.

"The United States is not the only target," he said alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visiting.

Foreign Minister Blinken said he and Stoltenberg had spoken about China's "systemic and tactical challenges" against the alliance and the importance of fighting them.