The Hill, a US daily newspaper, said the discovery of communications-gathering equipment inside the Chinese balloon that was shot down off the US coast, and not just pictures at the time it was traveling across the country last week, has raised the stakes surrounding the accident.
US lawmakers demanded new action from the Biden administration after it was revealed Thursday that the balloon had to transmit antennas to collect communications signals and solar panels to power its sensors.
The Hill said the incident, which until last week was unknown to many American citizens, appears to mark a new era of espionage and counterintelligence activity between the United States and China, according to John Sciorciari, director of the Weiser Diplomacy Center at the University of Michigan.
The American expert said that this incident makes it likely that the United States will accelerate various types of counterintelligence initiatives and expand in areas such as who is granted entry visas, and who is allowed to study in universities.
But, the acceleration of such policies may push the Chinese government to take similar steps.
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