Chinese ‘spy balloon’: Amid a series of controversies over two Chinese “spy balloons” hovering over the skies of the United States, it is important to understand whether a similar attempt was made to track India. Although neither the Government of India nor the Indian Air Force acknowledged any such incident against New Delhi, several media reports claimed that Beijing had taken a similar step to spy on India.
A media report claimed that a similar balloon was seen hovering over an important naval facility in India. The incident is being told of January last year. However, media reports did not present any concrete evidence to support their claims. A media outlet based in Andaman and Nicobar reported similar activities with identical balloons.
Mysterious balloon seen in Andaman and Nicobar
“In a strange development, an unidentified flying object was sighted by hundreds of residents of Port Blair town this afternoon. As the object was at an altitude above a few clouds, it appeared as if the object was stationary and hovering right above us. Head The white sphere-shaped object, resembling a weather balloon, attracted many eyeballs because of its shape and bright white surface,” Andaman Sheikha wrote in his report published on January 22, 2022.
The report said, “The zoomed-in picture shows eight dark panel-shaped devices/objects attached to the flying object, which were hanging in a disorganized manner, as if some parts were damaged.” However, the Indian authorities did not publish any report explaining the mysterious balloon.
China also sent similar balloons to the skies of Japan.
Although China has called it a “civilian balloon” on several occasions, many countries, including Japan, have rejected its claims. As the whole world witnessed how Chinese balloons floated over the US skies for almost two days, Japan also reported similar balloons in 2020- the time when China was battling the deadly COVID-19 virus. According to media reports, the American single-seat Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor was sent to intercept a balloon off the coast of Hawaii in February last year. Although there was no solid evidence, but it was surprising that China used to send its so-called civilian balloons to other countries between January and February.
Moreover, not only does China use its balloons to spy on other countries by violating their airspace, but it also deploys its naval forces to execute its plans. Earlier in 2022, a Chinese spy ship intruded into the Indian Ocean along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. China did this despite knowing the fact that New Delhi was preparing to test-fire its flagship ballistic missile Agni-5 from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
Also read: Another Chinese ‘spy balloon’ spotted over Latin America; America downplayed the threat