The Texas Congressman who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee says the balloon shot down after crossing over the United States was sent over American airspace intentionally.
"It was very clear to me this was an intentional act," Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin) said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation. "It was done with provocation to gather intelligence data."
McCaul said the balloon crossed over three sites. One was a ballistic missile field in Montana, another was a ballistic missile site in Nebraska, and the third was in Missouri where the B-2 bomber is located.
"If you look at the flight pattern of the balloon, it tells a story as to what the Chinese were up to as they controlled this aircraft throughout the United States," he said. "Going over those sites, in my judgment, would cause great damage."
McCaul said the balloon could provide China with a more detailed look at American installations since it is flying at a lower altitude than satellites.
"They're looking at what is our capability in the event of a possible future conflict in Taiwan?" he said.
McCaul said U.S. intelligence officials told him they had mitigated the impact, but he said one of his priorities will be a ban on exporting technology to China.
In addition to the balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4, a second object was shot down over Alaska Friday, a third was shot down over Canada's Yukon Territory Saturday, and a fourth object was shot down over Lake Huron Sunday.
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