Chinese balloon did not collect data while flying over the US, says Pentagon

“Our assessment now is that it did not collect [data] while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States,” said Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder.

According to Ryder, the US took measures to mitigate the balloon's actions. “Certainly the efforts we made contributed” to this, he noted, without elaborating.

The huge balloon packed with electronics flew over the US territory from Alaska to South Carolina between late January and early February this year and passed over military installations, raising concerns that Beijing was gathering vital intelligence.

Until, on February 4, the artifact was dropped near the coast of South Carolina and recovered from the Atlantic Ocean by the American armed forces, who have been studying its contents ever since.

The incident sparked tensions in relations between Beijing and Washington. A trip by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China aimed at strengthening ties between the countries, scheduled for February, was cancelled.

China denied the balloon was intended to collect intelligence and said it had deviated from its route as it entered US airspace.

In early June, just before Blinken's rescheduled visit to Beijing in which he met President Xi Jinping, the White House sought to downplay the episode.

“I don’t think the [Chinese] leadership knew where it was and knew what was in it and knew what was going on,” President Joe Biden said. “I believe it was more embarrassing than intentional.”

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