[News Inside Companies] EMAST, Developer of Chinese Reconnaissance Balloons... "Building a Global Network"

"Building Networks Like SpaceX Starlink"
"Founder Professor Woojeo Involved in China's Stealth Technology Development"

Scientists affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launching a large airship in the western Himalayas of Tibet last May. [Image source=Chinese Academy of Sciences website]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] EMAST, the company that developed the Chinese reconnaissance balloons which have become a global issue including in the United States, is emerging as an international controversy. The company reportedly revealed on its official website its goal to build a global network using reconnaissance balloons, sparking debate. EMAST is already on the U.S. sanctions list, and its founder is known to be deeply involved in the development of Chinese stealth technology and linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

On the 13th (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported that EMAST, the company behind the Chinese reconnaissance balloons, posted on its website last year that its goal is to launch a large number of reconnaissance balloons into the stratosphere by 2028 to establish a global surveillance network. NYT noted that EMAST compared its reconnaissance balloon network to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by the U.S. company SpaceX.

In 2017, EMAST also promoted the capabilities of its reconnaissance balloons on the official WeChat account, a Chinese social media platform, stating that the balloons enable "high-resolution, continuous, and stable communication, as well as reconnaissance and navigation capabilities."

Previously, EMAST succeeded in operating two reconnaissance balloons simultaneously in 2021, and last year attempted to build a network with three reconnaissance balloons. However, NYT pointed out that due to the ambiguity of tense in the Chinese language, it is unclear whether EMAST has already established the network with three balloons or is planning to do so. Amid international controversy, EMAST is reported to have recently shut down its website.

The company's founder is also known as a scientist deeply involved in the technological development of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. According to NYT, EMAST was founded in 2004 by Professor Wu Zhe (66) of Beihang University. Professor Wu is known for his contributions to the development of Chinese military science and technology, including fighter jet development and stealth material research for the PLA.

Notably, among the six Chinese companies sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce following the reconnaissance balloon incident, three?including EMAST?were co-founded by Professor Wu. NYT highlighted that in 2019, Professor Wu successfully conducted an experiment receiving signals sent from reconnaissance balloons on the ground, and the following year, he succeeded in safely recovering a reconnaissance balloon that circled the Earth.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and China are engaged in a diplomatic dispute, accusing each other of airspace violations by reconnaissance balloons. After the U.S. government disclosed that Chinese reconnaissance balloons were detected over five continents and 40 countries, the Chinese government responded by accusing U.S. reconnaissance balloons of violating Chinese airspace over ten times, including in Shandong Province.

Amid ongoing tensions over reconnaissance balloons, a dialogue between the U.S. and China is expected to take place soon. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany from the 17th to the 19th, and it is reported that he is considering meeting with Wang Yi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Political Bureau, during this period.