New details on the object shot down in the Yukon

UPDATE DAY

First details of the flying craft shot down Saturday night in the Yukon emerged in a Pentagon memo sent Monday to US lawmakers.

The target object by the U.S. military was first described as cylindrical.

Behold, a Pentagon memo obtained by CNN also calls it “a small metal balloon with a charge attached to the bottom.”

We also learn that the equipment had passed very close to “sensitive” American sites before being shot down.

For more than a week, four machines have been located in the North American sky. Now, espionage accusations are flying between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese media reported on Sunday that an unidentified flying object had been spotted off the country's east coast and the military was preparing to shoot it down. 

“  Since last year alone, American balloons have flown over [territory of] China more than 10 times without any permission,” said a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.

< p>Information that has been strongly denied by the White House. 

“We don't do that! This is absolutely not true! ” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, hammered yesterday on MSNBC.

Tense diplomacy

In such a context, the Canada could also get tough on the diplomatic scene, according to a former Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) executive.

“It would be consistent with the policies announced last fall by [Justin] Trudeau and his reorientation towards Indo-Asia, rather than China”, raises Michel Juneau-Katsuya.

Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, however, mentions that caution will have to be exercised, as only one object has been associated with Beijing.

“We must make sure that these are indeed Chinese balloons, because they could also be Russian balloons. This needs to be cleared up,” he sums up.

Meanwhile, Sino-American relations could continue to become more complex.

“We must not not to deduce from this that all communications are cut off and that China and the United States are no longer talking to each other”, however assured John Kirby yesterday.

< strong>– With AFP

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