The report claims that Chinese authorities have informed fishermen in the coastal city to be careful as they intend to shoot down the suspicious object.
China is ready to shoot down an unidentified flying object that was detected over Shandong province in the east of the country, according to a Bloomberg report.
If the information is verified, it will be the third shooting down this week and the second unidentified flying object shot down within 24 hours by Canadian and United States fighter jets with F-22 assistance.
China is preparing to shoot down an unidentified object spotted flying over the waters near the port city of Qingdao.
The report claims that Chinese authorities have informed fishermen in the coastal city to be careful as they intend to shoot down the suspicious object.
The US and Canada have shot down three high-altitude airborne objects this month, including one that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.
Washington said it was deliberately sent by China for surveillance. Beijing insisted it was a harmless weather-monitoring device that had been blown off course.
The latest alert sounded over Canadian airspace in Yukon, Alaska, where an unidentified object was flying at a height dangerous to civilian aircraft and again at 40,000 feet.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau communicated with the US president and then ordered the object to be shot down.
Sensors
Images from U2 spy planes showed that the Chinese balloon that flew over the US last week was definitely equipped to gather intelligence rather than weather data, a US official said on Thursday on condition of anonymity.
Detailed images taken by U2 at high altitude showed that the balloon’s equipment “was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with weather balloon equipment,” the senior State Department official said.
“It had multiple antennas to include an array possibly capable of collecting and locating geographic communications,” the official said.
“It was equipped with solar panels large enough to generate the power required to operate multiple active intelligence-gathering sensors,” the official said.
A US fighter jet shot down the hot air balloon over the Atlantic on Saturday after crossing much of the country, flying over areas where the US keeps nuclear missiles in underground silos and bases its strategic bombers.
The incident led US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to cancel an upcoming trip to Beijing aimed at improving communications between the rival superpowers.
The official said the US believed the balloon was under the control of China’s People’s Liberation Army and was part of a fleet of balloons China had sent to more than 40 countries on five continents to gather intelligence.
“We are confident that the balloon manufacturer has a direct link with China’s military,” the official said.
The official said the US is weighing action against Chinese entities linked to the balloon’s operation, suggesting it may target them with sanctions.
Earlier, Beijing confirmed it had declined a phone call Saturday from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the balloon issue.
“This irresponsible and seriously flawed approach by the US has not created an appropriate atmosphere for dialogue and exchanges between the two militaries,” China’s defense ministry said in a statement.
US operations continue to recover debris from the hot air balloon just off the coast of the eastern state of South Carolina.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
