First modification:
China acknowledged this Friday that the device that has flown over the northern United States is its property, but ensures that it uses it only for scientific purposes, especially meteorological. The Pentagon had warned on Thursday that it had identified a spy balloon, but has refrained from shooting it down because of the risk it poses to those on the ground. Canada reported a similar “second incident.”
Beijing “regretted” on Friday the “accidental” entry of an unmanned “civilian aircraft” into US airspace, after the Pentagon said it had detected a Chinese spy balloon flying over its territory.
“This is a civil aircraft used for scientific, mainly meteorological, purposes” and “originating from China,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement. “The Chinese side regrets the accidental entry of the aircraft into the US airspace due to force majeure,” the statement added.
On Thursday, a US official said the balloon flew over the northwestern United States, where there are sensitive airbases and strategic nuclear missiles in underground silos.
BREAKING ? Alleged footage shows suspected Chinese spy balloon that US government has been monitoring, hovering over Montana for the past few days
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 2, 2023
Images of the balloon flying over Montana
At the request of President Joe Biden, the Department of Defense considered shooting down the aircraft, but made the decision not to do so due to the potential risks to people on the ground, said the source who requested anonymity.
“Clearly the intent of this balloon is surveillance, and the current flight path takes it over a number of sensitive sites,” the official said.
The balloon flew over the northwestern United States, where there are sensitive airbases and strategic nuclear missiles in underground silos, but the Pentagon does not believe this device poses much of a threat because it “has limited additive value from a data collection perspective.” Intelligence”.
“We are taking measures to protect ourselves from the collection of confidential information by foreign intelligence,” said the official, however, who said he had “no doubt about the fact that the balloon comes from China.”
The balloon entered US airspace “several days ago,” the official said, but had been tracked by US intelligence services before.
canada too
The Canadian government said Friday that it was monitoring a “potential second incident,” without mentioning China.
“A high-altitude surveillance balloon has been detected and its movements are being actively tracked,” Canada’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
“Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the safety of its airspace, even with vigilance for a potential second incident,” it said.
“Canadian intelligence agencies work with their US partners and take all necessary measures to protect Canada’s sensitive information from threats from abroad,” it added.
“It does not represent a threat”
Several US warplanes examined the balloon as it flew over Montana (north). It currently flies “at an altitude well above commercial air traffic” and “poses no military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.
China has flown surveillance balloons over the United States in the past.
But on this occasion, the presence of the balloon was detected days before the visit to China by the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, his first trip to the Asian country since 2018.
The relationship between the two powers is tense, particularly with regard to Taiwan, which the Chinese government considers part of its territory and whose control it intends to regain control one day, if necessary by force.
According to the person in charge of Defense, Washington raised the issue of the balloon with the Chinese authorities.
“We told them clearly that we will do what is necessary to protect our people in our territory,” he said.
