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CHINESE SPY BALLOON OVER US IS WEATHER DEVICE SAYS BEIJING

Published
4 hours ago

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Media caption,

Watch: "At first I thought it was a star"

An alleged spy balloon spotted over the US is a Chinese "civilian airship" which
had deviated from its planned route, China says.

US defence officials said they believed the balloon, seen above sensitive areas
in recent days, was in fact a "high-altitude surveillance" device.

But in a statement, China's foreign ministry said it was used for "mainly
meteorological" purposes.

China "regrets the unintended entry" of the balloon into US airspace, it added.

The object flew over Alaska's Aleutian Islands and through Canada before
appearing over the city of Billings in Montana on Wednesday, according to
officials.

Montana is home to some of the US's nuclear missile silos.



The US decided not to shoot down the balloon because of the danger posed by
falling debris, and the limited use of any intelligence the device could gather,
a US defence official said.

However, the government prepared fighter jets in case the object had to be shot
down.

The Chinese statement said the balloon had been blown off-course by unexpected
winds.

"Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the
airship deviated far from its planned course.

"The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace
due to force majeure."

The statement referred to the incident as an "unexpected situation" and said
Beijing would continue to communicate with the US side.



On Friday, Canada said it had summoned China's ambassador over the incident and
will continue to "vigorously express" its position to Chinese officials.

The balloon has been reported in US media as being about the size of three
buses.

During Thursday's briefing at the Pentagon, US defence officials declined to
disclose the aircraft's current location and did not give information on where
it was launched from.

They added that the balloon was "appearing to hang out for a longer period of
time" than others tracked by the US over the past several years.

The unfamiliar sight caused confusion as the balloon hovered above Montana, with
some people posting images of the pale round object high above the Earth's
surface.

Billings office worker Chase Doak told the Associated Press news agency that he
noticed the "big white circle in the sky" and went home to get a better camera.



"I thought maybe it was a legitimate UFO," he said. "So I wanted to make sure I
documented it and took as many photos as I could."



China initially warned against "conjectures and hyping up the issue" while it
worked to "verify" the reports of the balloon, with state media outlet the
Global Times accusing the US of aggravating tensions between the two countries.

Despite China's explanation, the incident is likely to increase tensions ahead
of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China next week. It will be
the first visit to the country by a Biden administration cabinet secretary.

The top US diplomat will be in Beijing to hold talks on a wide range of issues,
including security, Taiwan and Covid-19.


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RELATED TOPICS

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 * Surveillance
 * United States
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