China has said that an alleged spy balloon spotted over U.S. is a Chinese civilian airship which had deviated from its planned route
China has said that an alleged spy balloon spotted over the United States (U.S.) is a Chinese civilian airship which had deviated from its planned route.
The U.S. defence officials said they believed the balloon, seen above sensitive areas in recent days, was in fact a high-altitude surveillance device. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the balloon was used mainly for meteorological purposes.
A Statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry read, “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.”
China said the balloon had been blown off-course by unexpected winds. Chain said it regrets the unintended entry of the balloon into U.S. airspace. The object flew over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and through Canada before appearing over the city of Billings in Montana. Also, Montana is home to some of the U.S.’s nuclear missile silos.
The U.S. 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. The Government had prepared fighter jets in case the object had to be shot down.
China referred to the incident as an unexpected situation and said Beijing would continue to communicate with the U.S. side. The balloon has been reported in U.S. media as being about the size of three buses. 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.
The U.S. 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 U.S. over the past several years.
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 U.S. of aggravating tensions between the two countries.
Despite China’s explanation, U.S. Secretary of State – Antony Blinken has cancelled his scheduled visit to China. He was supposed to travel to China next week. It would have been the first visit to the country by a U.S. President – Joe Biden’s Administration Cabinet Secretary. The agenda of the cancelled meeting was security, Taiwan and Coronavirus (COVID-19).
