US disguised aerial devices as civilian aircrafts to spy on China
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The US army has employed various aircraft to spy on China after disguising them as civilian aerial devices.
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A US P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane flies near Chinese structures and buildings on the Fiery Cross Reef at the Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea seen on March 20, 2022 (AP Photo)
The US has conducted over 600 reconnaissance operations on China in 2022 alone, the Global Times reported on Tuesday.
Citing a Chinese technology and intelligence company called MizarVision, the report states that the US had used all sorts of spying aerial devices, some of which it disguised as civilian aircraft, including balloons, to conduct its spying operations.
MizaVision said the real figures could be higher as some US aircraft turn their Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) trackers off or use fake ones.
MizarVision said, citing Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data, the U.S. military has been conducting 抵近侦察 close-in reconnaissance on China rampantly - at least 600+ times in 2022 over 中国南海 "Chinese South China Sea."
— Zichen Wang (@ZichenWanghere) February 20, 2023
Since U.S. recon planes sometimes pic.twitter.com/8jIJlXvqfZ
Reconnaissance operations were also identified in the East China Sea when the Chinese army conducted military drills around the island of Taiwan in August of last year.
Some of the aircraft that are frequently deployed to carry out reconnaissance missions include the EP-3E electronic signals reconnaissance plane, the P-8A maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane, the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, the E-8C airborne command and control plane, and the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane, MizarVision told the Global Times.
The US army has also employed vessels and disguised them as commercial ships by changing their identification codes, MizarVision added, noting that these methods have been used to spy on China's Hainan Island and Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
The US has also employed balloons for spying purposes. Equipped with multiple features, including communication, navigation, and remote sensing for a period of over 45 days, MizarVision confirmed that several of these devices were deployed during military drills with the Philippines between March and April of 2022.
Data from Chinese tech firm MizarVision shows the 4 US military reconnaissance aircrafts that are frequently deployed around the Taiwan island have recently not made any move but parked at a base in Okinawa, Japan, so far on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/OPUvNTEBkD
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 3, 2022
This comes in light of a recent incident in which a Chinese research balloon accidentally entered US airspace due to force majeure.
Instead of dealing with the situation peacefully, the US has accused China of carrying out spy operations on the US and shot down the device using a fighter jet and missile.
"When China's civilian weather scientific research airship accidentally entered the US, it disregarded facts and China's friendly communication, took the chance for political manipulation and ill-intended hype, and accused China of using the balloon for "spying" purposes," the report states.
The report describes this overreaction as a political opportunity to further fuel sinophobia across the US and the collective West.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday blasted the US reaction to what Washington has called a Chinese spy balloon as "hysterical and absurd."
Addressing a gathering of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference, Wang considered that US President Joe Biden's administration has a "misguided" perception of Beijing, accusing Washington of trying to "smear" the Asian giant.
"There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to down each and every one of them?" he asked, urging the US "not to do such preposterous things simply to divert attention from its own domestic problems."
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