The United State of America is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon moving over the continental US airspace. The Pentagon had advised President Joe Biden not to shoot down the balloon, which was potentially flying over sensitive sites, because of concerns of hurting people on the ground. According to US officials, the balloon flew over Alaska and Canada before appearing in the US state of Montana, which is home to a number of sensitive military missile sites. Meanwhile, the government prepared fighter jets in case the object had to be shot down. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his trip to China following the incident.
A senior State Department official said conditions were not right at the moment for what would have been the first high level US-China meeting there in years.
China’s foreign ministry has expressed regret over what it called a civilian balloon straying into United States airspace, which prompted the postponement of a planned visit by Washington’s top diplomat to Beijing.
The ministry in a statement on Friday said the balloon suspected by the US of conducting surveillance was a civilian “airship” used for research, mainly for meteorological purposes.
The statement added that the airship has limited steering capability and “deviated far from its planned course” because of the winds.
China “regrets the unintended entry” of the balloon into US airspace due to force majeure, it added.
The Chinese apology was noted, the US official said, but described the balloon as a clear violation of sovereignty and international law.
A senior US defense official said he US, the official said, is “taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information. We are also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights, and continue to monitor the balloon as it was over the continental United States.”
The US government has engaged with the Chinese government both through the Chinese embassy in Washington and the US diplomatic mission in China, according to the official.
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