The recent detection and targeting of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by NATO countries “highlights the importance” of the bloc to strengthen its ability to defend its airspace, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg defended this Monday .
At a press conference at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Stoltenberg said the investment by the United States and Canada in modernized and advanced radars, with improved defense capabilities, “underscores the importance of strengthening and improving airspace defense capabilities, both over North America and in Europe.”.
The official also pointed out that at the next meeting of those responsible for NATO defense, Tuesday, analysts will outline the best way to strengthen oversight for “better detection of any violation of NATO airspace” .
Another aspect regarding spy balloons and UFOs, Stoltenberg added, is that their sighting “reveals a pattern that China and also Russia have in their intelligence and surveillance activities against NATO allies.”
China has launched a “fleet of balloons destined for espionage operations” around the world “over the past few years”said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on Feb. 8.
Chinese balloons have been discovered over countries on five continentsin “violation of their sovereignty,” the spokeswoman declared at a press conference, a few days after the United States shot down an unmanned Chinese aircraft flying over its airspace – which Beijing authorities said was a civil and meteorological investigation, and Washington is considering spying on sensitive military installations.
Earlier this month, the United States shot down a Chinese “spy balloon” that had been flying over various parts of the country for days.such as the state of Montana, in the northeast, which is home to one of three existing nuclear missile silo fields on North American territory. China has admitted the balloon is part of it, but said it was blown off course by high winds and was being used for meteorological purposes, not espionage.
The United States also announced on Friday that it had discovered another “spy balloon” over Latin America, which the Chinese government also admitted, though they insisted the airship did not pose “any threat”.
The countries in which the device was detected were Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela, according to various sources.
The discovery of these “spy balloons” sparked a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Beijing and led to the suspension of an already planned trip by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to the Asian country.
Source: DN
