Live update: The US shot down a Chinese spy balloon.
WASHINGTON — The United States has detected what it says is a Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over the northwestern United States, the Pentagon said on Thursday, a discovery that comes days before its flight. Visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.
According to a senior defense official not authorized to speak publicly, President Biden has now chosen not to shoot down the balloon following a recommendation from Pentagon officials that doing so risks sending debris. fell on people on the ground.
The decision to publish the findings appears to have brought China to the fore ahead of Mr Blinken’s visit to Beijing – the first visit by a US secretary of state in six years – during which he is expected to meet Mr. Xi Jinping. The sudden arrival of the hot air balloon would certainly increase already-escalating tensions between the two powers.
The official said that while this is not the first time China has sent a spy balloon to the US, the balloon appears to have been in the country for longer. However, a senior administration official, who declined to be named, said the balloon posed no military or material threat and added that it had limited value in intelligence gathering. Another defense official said the Pentagon doesn’t think the hot air balloons offer more value than China can gather via satellite imagery.
Pentagon officials said the balloon had traveled from China to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and over northwest Canada over the past few days before arriving somewhere over Montana, where it was hovering on Wednesday.
Canadian Ministry of Defense said in a brief statement late Thursday that the movements of the high-altitude surveillance balloon had been “actively monitored” by North American Aerospace Defense Command, part of a US military partnership- Canada. It added that the country’s intelligence agencies are working with their American counterparts to “take all necessary measures to protect sensitive Canadian information from foreign intelligence threats. “
“Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including monitoring for the possibility of a second incident,” the statement said, without elaborating. .
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The Department of Defense did not explain where and when the balloon was discovered, where it might be headed, or whether it was a balloon that appeared overhead in Montana. It also doesn’t explain the reference to a “possible second incident”. Department officials did not immediately respond to emails or phone calls asking for clarification.
After initially saying in a press conference that it had to check the balloon claims, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it was an innocent mistake.
“The plane came from China. It is a civilian airship used for research purposes, mainly meteorology,” an unnamed ministry spokesman said in a statement. statement on its website. “Influenced by the Westerlies and with limited self-control, the airship deviated too far from plan. The Chinese side regrets that this spacecraft accidentally entered US airspace due to majeure,” refers to a breach caused by forces beyond a party’s control.
It is unclear what China is looking for in Montana, but the state is home to the 341st Missile Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three US Air Force bases that operate and maintain missiles. intercontinental ballistics.
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Brigade Commander General Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, told reporters the hot air balloon was traveling “much higher than commercial air traffic,” adding that ” Upon discovery of the hot air balloon, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information. He did not specify what those measures were.
The Pentagon sent F-22 fighter jets to track the balloon on Wednesday, resulting in flights having to temporarily land at Billings Airport, the senior defense official said, but decided do not shoot down the balloon.
Officials said Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III convened a meeting of senior military and defense officials on Wednesday to discuss how to handle the situation.
Senior Biden administration officials made urgent calls to their Chinese counterparts using multiple channels and communicated the severity of the problem, the senior defense official said during a briefing at the Pentagon. Pentagon.
China has several satellites that orbit about 300 miles above the earth. Like US spy satellites, Chinese satellites can take pictures and monitor weapons launches, officials said. Both countries have a history of spying on each other; American officials who visit China on diplomatic missions often expect that their conversations will be monitored.
The Pentagon assesses that the spy balloon “doesn’t offer anything that China’s ‘other’ collections have not yet provided them with,” said Michael P. Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. , the CIA officer and Marine, said in a message. “This could be a reference to Chinese spy satellites.”
The revelation comes amid growing tensions between Beijing and Washington. On Thursday, the Department of Defense said the US military is Expansion of presence in the Philippinesas part of what military analysts see as an effort to limit China’s armed forces and strengthen the United States’ ability to defend Taiwan.
The Biden administration has aggressively examined China’s ability to advance its technological and military ambitions, drawing criticism from Beijing. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and what US officials see as Chinese easy stance for it – has also strained relations. But by far the most tense issue between the two great powers is Taiwan.
Mr. Blinken gathered allies and partners to denounce China’s actions in Taiwan. At the same time, he is a supporter of Mr. Biden’s goal of keeping channels of communication open with China to avoid worsening the relationship.
Lawmakers were quick to call on the Biden administration to stand strong against any threats.
“China’s blatant disregard for U.S. sovereignty is an act of destabilization that must be addressed and President Biden cannot remain silent,” President Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, said in a statement. An announcement. Twitter posts.
In a joint statement, Representative Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, said: “The Chinese Communist Party should not have requested access to US airspace.” The two added that the incident shows that the threat from China is “not limited to faraway shores – it’s at home and we must act to counter this threat.”
On the ground in Montana, Jeffrey Sherlock, a retired district court judge in Helena, agreed that the balloon was a “provocative” move. But he also expressed surprise whether the Chinese are interested in his part of the country.
“I can’t believe they’re watching Billings, Mont,” he said. “There’s not much there.”
Edward King And Julian Barnes contribution report from Washington, Mike Ives from Seoul and Jim Robbins from Helena, Mont.
