China says a suspected spy balloon that has been flying over the United States is actually a “civilian airship” that strayed into U.S. airspace.
The United States said it believed the object was a high-altitude surveillance balloon flying over sensitive sites to gather information.
The foreign ministry in Beijing acknowledged that the balloons came from China, but said they were for meteorological and other scientific research.
It added that it regretted that it had gone off track.
However, a U.S. official said earlier: “It is clear that the purpose of the balloon is surveillance.”
Airship spotted over Billings, Montana, Wednesday – near one of three US nuclear missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
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Pentagon says Chinese spy balloon flew over U.S. airspace
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It flew over the Aleutian Islands, not far from the coast Alaskaand pass Canada before entering the United States.
The balloon is still in U.S. airspace, but officials declined to say where it is now.
They acknowledged that it operates above civilian air traffic and below “outer space”, but declined to say how high it flew.
Military and defense leaders considered shooting balloons out of the sky but decided against it due to the safety risk of falling debris.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin convened a meeting of senior military and defense leaders to review the threat profile and possible responses to the balloon presented to the U.S. president joe biden Wednesday.
U.S. tracks suspected Chinese balloon
the United States is already involved Chinese Officers “urgent” and communicated the seriousness of the situation.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said: “The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon flying over the continental United States.
“The U.S. government, including NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), continues to closely track and monitor it.
“Balloons are currently flying at altitudes well above commercial air traffic and pose no military or physical threat to personnel on the ground.
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“In the past few years, instances of this ballooning activity have been observed.
“Once the balloon was discovered, the U.S. government took immediate action to prevent the collection of sensitive information.”
China and the United States have recently experienced tension, clashing over Taiwan and China’s human rights records and their military activities in the South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to visit China in the coming days.
It was not immediately clear whether this would affect his travel plans, and the State Department has yet to make an official announcement.