Despite China’s categorical denials, a massive, high-altitude Chinese balloon has traveled across the United States, prompting grave Pentagon accusations of spying and forcing Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip intended to reduce tensions between the United States and China.
On Friday, people with binoculars and telephoto lenses attempted to locate the “spy balloon” in the sky as it flew at 60,000 feet eastward over Kansas and Missouri.
Despite China’s claim that the balloon was just an “airship” for weather research that had blown off course, Blinken was canceled.
China’s claim that the balloon, which was about the size of two school buses, was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational capabilities was also rejected out of hand by the Pentagon.
Officials stated that the balloon was expected to remain in US airspace for several days and had moved eastward over the central United States by midday after being detected over Montana’s sensitive military sites.
Read: ‘Chinese spy balloon’ spotted over western US
New blow to fractured ties
The development dealt a new blow to already-strained relations between China and the United States, which have been deteriorating for years due to a variety of issues. Despite this, US officials insisted that diplomatic channels remained open and that Blinken was willing to travel to China at “an appropriate time.”
When asked about the matter at an economic event, President Joe Biden declined to comment.
Both former president Donald Trump, who is running for reelection in 2024, and Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador, have called for the United States to shoot down the balloon right away.
According to a high-ranking defense official, the United States had prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon on command. Even though the balloon was hovering over a sparsely populated region of Montana, its size could result in a debris field large enough to put people in danger, according to the Pentagon’s final recommendation against that.
On Friday, the Pentagon’s press secretary, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, refused to disclose whether the possibility of shooting the balloon down had changed.
According to Ryder, it was movable, around 60,000 feet up, and had changed course. He stated that it did not currently pose any threat.
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China’s claim not unfeasible
Regarding Blinken’s trip, Jean-Pierre stated that a diplomatic visit to China at this time was inappropriate. “The presence of this balloon in our airspace… is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this occurred,” she stated.
Thursday, officials from the Pentagon said that a balloon was seen over Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields.
China’s claim that the balloon had veered off course was not impossible, according to meteorologists. Dan Jaffe, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Washington, stated that China’s account of the Westerlies carrying a balloon to the western United States was “absolutely possible — not possible, likely.”
Still, a number of US officials said that the balloon’s presence was “unacceptable” and that Blinken had sent a message to Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi on Friday when he told them he was delaying his trip.
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According to a statement released by Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, Blinken had informed Wang that “the United States is committed to diplomatic engagement and maintaining open lines of communication, and that he would be prepared to visit Beijing as soon as conditions allow,” according to the statement.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that was close to an apology that the balloon was a civilian airship used mostly for meteorological research. It stated that the winds had “deviated far from its planned course” and that the airship had limited “self-steering” capabilities.
The statement said, “The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” which is a legal term for things that are out of one’s control.
Source: TRT World
