alt=Sarah GamblesWhat is a suspected surveillance balloon from China doing flying over the U.S.? The U.S. government is trying to figure that out.
Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, says the government has been watching the balloon for the last few days and that it was “traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” CNN reported.
How is the U.S. responding to the suspected Chinese spy balloon?
President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he will not request the balloon be shot down for now, with concerns that it could impact people below with possible debris, per The New York Times.
Pentagon officials expressed that the balloon is not a cause of physical concern, but it could possibly increase already escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.
China announced on Friday that the balloon was for “civilian research” and it has “deviated far from its planned course,” the Times reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was planning on a trip to Bejing, marking the first visit by a secretary of state in six years. However, after China’s statement, Blinken decided to postpone the trip just hours before he was slated to leave, “in a dramatic indication of how seriously the Biden administration takes the incident and wants to avoid appearing soft on China,” according to The Washington Post.
On Friday, the balloon was floating over Montana at a high altitude of 60,000 feet, and military forces are considering shooting the balloon down once it reaches a more remote area, CBS News reported.
To be cautious, the Pentagon did take steps to protect certain sites just to be safe, a U.S. defense official told CBS News.
What does China say about the spy balloon?
China claims the balloon is a weather balloon and said it regrets the “unintended entry,” saying the balloon was for meteorological research and had drifted off-course, USA Today reported.
Mao Ning, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said, “China is a responsible country and always abides strictly by international law. We have no intention of violating the territory or airspace of any sovereign country,” per BBC.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted, “China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent.”
A “Gang of Eight” is a “panel of lawmakers including the top Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, plus the heads of each chamber’s intelligence committee,” per the Post.
This story was updated after Blinken announced he was postponing his trip to Beijing.