Belgrade News: ‘Brazen incursion’: Tester wants answers from Pentagon, Biden administration China’s use of U.S. technology

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, wants the Biden administration and Pentagon to look into how the Chinese government utilizes American technology in its surveillance.

That includes the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the Aleutian Islands in Alaska before navigating across the Montana and other U.S. states earlier this year before being shot down by U.S. fighter jets off the South Carolina coast in February.

Tester has written the Biden administration pressing for answers about how China is using U.S. technology for surveillance, intelligence and military operations.

The Montana Democrat is chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee.

Tester is also backing a provision in the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act to have various federal agencies produce reports on how China uses American technology for military and surveillance purposes.

“This brazen incursion of the Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace was unacceptable, and we can’t let it happen again,” said Tester. “I was disturbed to learn the Chinese Communist Party took advantage of American technology during the incursion, and we need a full accounting of any and all commercially available technology that is being turned on Americans in foreign espionage programs. Montanans want answers and the assurance this won’t happen again, and this provision is a step in the right direction.”

Tester’s moves comes as Republicans — including Montana Sen. Steve Daines — also voice concerns about the Chinese spy balloon and American technology it potentially contained as well as concerns about China setting up large-scale spy station in Cuba — 90 miles from the Florida coast.

“The fact that the Chinese Communist Party was able to use our technology in their spy program is extremely troubling and must be immediately analyzed.  This is a clear demonstration that our current defense and technology export controls may not be adequately preventing or dissuading adversaries from using our own technology against us. I expect this Administration, and the individual departments you oversee, to take whatever necessary action is required to bolster our export controls so that this doesn’t happen again,” Tester said in a statement.