(Trends Wide Spanish) — A suspected Chinese spy balloon is flying over United States territory, under close surveillance by the Defense Ministry, US officials said Thursday. The revelation has sparked a new wave of tensions between Beijing and Washington, shortly before Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China.
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Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said the US government had been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the north of the country, adding that it was “traveling at an altitude well above traffic commercial aircraft and does not present a physical or military threat to people on the ground.”
A suspected Chinese high-altitude balloon floats over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP)
“We believe for sure that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to you. [a la República Popular China]another senior defense official said. “Instances of this activity have been observed in recent years, even before this administration.”
China’s response
The balloon entered United States airspace “due to force majeure,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday, confirming that the aircraft came from China.
“This is a civil aircraft used for research purposes, mainly meteorological. Affected by the west winds and with limited self-steering ability, the aircraft deviated greatly from its intended course. The Chinese side regrets the involuntary entry of the aircraft in US airspace due to force majeure,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Chinese side will continue to communicate with the US side and properly manage this unexpected situation caused by force majeure,” the statement added.
With information from Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky, Michael Conte, Nectar Gan, and Martin Goillandeau
