U.S. Seeks Balloon Payload As China Insists Spy Claim Is Hype

(Bloomberg) -- US search crews scoured the ocean off the coast of South Carolina for electronic components of the Chinese balloon shot down nearly a week ago, as officials sought new evidence to back up the claim that it was part of a global military-backed spy program.

Chinese officials stepped up their own counter-argument that the US was hyping the episode, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying Friday that the balloon was a civilian craft and its transit across the US last week was an “isolated, unexpected incident.” 

Mao made the comments when asked about the State Department asserting that the aircraft was part of a military-led spy program spanning more than 40 countries. “The relevant action of the US side is political manipulation and hype,” she said. “We are firmly opposed to that.”

ABC News reported Friday that the balloon’s main undercarriage has been located underwater and is largely intact. The report, which cited US officials who weren’t identified, said the equipment had yet to be retrieved.

“There’s an ongoing operation to recover the balloon’s components,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said Friday. “We’re analyzing them to learn more about the surveillance program.”

As the US continues its search, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released photographs that showed agents examining the balloon’s white canopy and helping direct vessels across the water in search of new material. On a call Thursday, FBI officials told reporters the bureau had yet to access the balloon’s main payload.

A week after the balloon was shot down, the drama showed no sign of easing, and US-China relations, which the Biden administration had hoped to keep from getting any worse, looked more strained than ever.

In a series of briefings and hearings with lawmakers, US officials argued there was no doubt that the balloon was a surveillance device used under a program run by China’s People’s Liberation Army. They said it was carrying equipment with sensors designed to pick up communications signals and pointed to the fact that it had hovered over sensitive US military sites during its transit across the US.

“This irresponsible act put on full display what we’ve long recognized as the PRC has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told lawmakers, Thursday, referring to China’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China.

Read: US Makes Case That Chinese Balloon Was Part of Spying Program

The Biden administration said the manufacturer of the device, which it didn’t name, had a direct relationship with the People’s Liberation Army. 

Attention was also shifting to how China sourced the parts that went into the balloon’s payload, as lawmakers questioned whether President Joe Biden ought to have done more to limit the export of sensitive technology to China. People familiar with the matter said lawmakers were told Thursday that the balloon had western-made components with English-language writing on them.

Also: Chinese Balloon Had Parts With English Writing, Lawmakers Told

China’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Xu Xueyuan, told a virtual conference hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council on Wednesday that the two nations “shouldn’t let this incident offset efforts made to stabilize ties.”

--With assistance from .

(Updates with ABC report on undercarriage in fourth paragraph)

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