US Adds 6 Chinese Entities Tied to Balloon Program to Blacklist

World

February 11th, 5:42am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The balloon was shot down last weekend off the Carolina coast

The Biden administration on Friday added six Chinese entities connected to Beijing's suspected surveillance balloon program to an export blacklist. The new restrictions come after the White House said it would consider broader efforts to "expose and address" China's larger surveillance activities that threaten US national security and allies. The Commerce Department said the five companies and one research institute were supporting "China's military modernization efforts, specifically the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) aerospace programs including airships and balloons." The spectacle of the Chinese balloon drifting over the United States last week caused political outrage in Washington and brought into sharp focus the challenge that China posed to the United States and its allies. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing that both countries had hoped would patch up frayed relations. The balloon was shot down last weekend off the Carolina coast. On Friday, a US military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the remote northern coast of Alaska on orders from President Joe Biden. The object was downed because it reportedly posed a threat to the safety of civilian flights, instead of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. But the twin incidents in such close succession reflect heightened concerns over China’s surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Being added to the entity list makes it hard for targeted companies to obtain US tech exports. Both Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump have used the list to punish Chinese companies viewed as a threat to national security and keep Beijing from advancing militarily. "Today's action demonstrates our concerted efforts to identify and disrupt the PRC’s use of surveillance balloons, which have violated the airspace of the United States and more than forty countries,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod. The Commerce Department said the six entities supported the modernization of China's PLA and its aerospace programs including airships and balloons. "The PLA is utilizing High Altitude Balloons for intelligence and reconnaissance activities," said the listing posted for the Federal Register, the official US daily journal. Two of the entities are Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute. The Biden administration also added Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology, Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group, Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology and Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4151356/us-adds-6-chinese-entities-tied-balloon-program-blacklist