Chinese ‘spy buoys’ found targeting the United States’ nuclear submarines

The US will quadruple troops in Taiwan as ‘spy buoys’ were found watching nuclear submarines, while a pilot ‘selfie’ gives the closest look at China’s spy balloon. See the photos.

The United States will more than quadruple its troops in Taiwan amid the rising threat from China.

The military build-up in the Pacific comes as new details emerged on China’s secret surveillance program, with “spy buoys” found watching nuclear submarines and a pilot’s “selfie” giving the closest look yet at the balloon shot down over the US.

A pilot’s ‘selfie’ of the Chinese spy balloon that flew across the United States, and a mysterious iron buoy that washed up on a beach in Japan. Picture: Supplied

The US reportedly plans on sending up to 200 troops to train Taiwan forces in the coming months, up from the roughly 30 deployed to the island nation in the past year.

The larger deployment of special operations forces, the biggest in decades, will expand a secret training program for Taipei’s forces on US weapon systems and military manoeuvres against a potential Chinese invasion, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

Another contingent of Taiwan forces is being trained in North America by the Michigan National Guard during annual exercises with several countries allied with the US.

“Our support for, and defence relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“Our commitment to Taiwan contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”

The escalation follows China’s increasingly aggressive military and espionage build-up around the globe, including a “spy buoy” program in the Arctic that the Canadian military claims have been monitoring US submarines.

A pilot’s ‘selfie’ of the Chinese spy balloon, taken from the cockpit of a U-2 spy plane. Picture: Supplied

A close up of the massive payload suspended below the balloon, appearing to show solar panels, a white dish, and propellers. Picture: Supplied

Canadian defence minister Anita Anand said officials discovered “dual-purpose technologies”, reported to be “buoys”, used for spying on America’s submarine fleet, all of which are nuclear powered.

While Daniel Le Bouthillier, from the Department of National Defence, said the Canadian military found the monitoring devices, no detail was given on whether the buoy floated into Canadian territorial waters or if it was permanently anchored there.

“When it comes to issues over the Arctic within our maritime borders, or any form of foreign interference, we will be clear, and that’s how we will address this issue,” Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly told CNN.

The discovery comes just days after a mysterious iron ball washed up on a beach in Japan, baffling residents and scrambling the country’s bomb squad.

Broadcast footage of the mysterious object found on a beach in Hamamatsu. Picture: Supplied

The large ball, about 1.5 metres in diameter, was discovered on Enshu beach on the coastline of Hamamatsu yesterday. X-rays confirmed it was not an explosive device, but its purpose remains unknown.

The object washed up on the same day the two countries held their first joint security talks in four years, with Japan expressing its concern over China’s use of spy balloons.

Beijing’s spy balloon program was thrust into the spotlight after it flew one of its surveillance satellites across the entirety of the continental United States.

New photos released by the US Department of Defence revealed the closest look yet at the payload carried by the balloon before it was shot down off the coast of the Atlantic.

Taken by the pilot of the U-2S “Dragon Lady” spy plane that followed the balloon as it passed over parts of Canada and the US, the selfie shows the massive apparatuses suspended below the large white balloon.

It included a large white dish, thought to be an antenna, at its centre that could be used for intercepting signals intelligence. It also had a large array of solar panels, which could be used to power what appeared to be four propellers and the electronics used in the surveillance system.

File photo a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane, similar to the one that followed the Chinese spy balloon across the US. Picture: Supplied

The balloon recovered from the surface of the Atlantic Ocean after it was shot down by F-22 Raptors. Picture: Supplied

Originally published as Chinese ‘spy buoys’ found targeting the United States’ nuclear submarines