The United States is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been seen over US airspace for a couple of days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to the risks of harm to people on the ground, officials said Thursday. The discovery of the balloon puts further pressure on US-China relations at a time of heightened tension.
A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the United States is “very confident” that it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and that it was flying over sensitive sites to gather information. One of the places the balloon was seen was Montana, which is home to one of the country’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.
Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, made a brief statement on the matter, saying the government continues to track the balloon. He said it “currently travels at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”
He said similar balloon activity has been seen in recent years. He added that the United States took steps to ensure that it did not collect sensitive information.
The defense official said the United States has “engaged” with Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated to them the seriousness of the matter.
The incident comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to make his first trip to Beijing, scheduled for this weekend, to try to find common ground. Although the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have been talking about his imminent arrival.
It was not immediately clear if the discovery of the balloon would affect Blinken’s travel plans.
The senior defense official said the United States got fighter jets, including F-22s, ready to shoot down the balloon if ordered by the White House. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even when the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough to put people at risk.
It was not clear what the military was doing to prevent him from collecting sensitive information or what will happen to the balloon if it is not shot down.
In a letter sent Thursday to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., wrote: “The fact that this balloon was occupying Montana airspace raises significant concern that Force Base Malmstrom Air Force and the US ICBM fields are the targets of this intelligence gathering mission. … It is vital to establish the flight path of this balloon, any compromised US national security assets, and any ground-based telecommunications or IT infrastructure within the US that this spy balloon was using.”
The defense official said the spy balloon was trying to fly over the Montana missile fields, but the US has assessed it as having “limited” value in terms of providing intelligence to China that it could no longer gather through other means. , such as through spy satellites.
The official did not specify the size of the balloon, but said it was large enough that commercial pilots could see it despite its high altitude. All air traffic was ground to a halt at Montana’s Billings Logan International Airport from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday as the military provided options to the White House.
The Billings Gazette captured a photograph of a large white balloon hovering over the area, but the Pentagon did not confirm whether that was the surveillance balloon. The balloon could be seen going in and out of the clouds and had what appeared to be a solar panel dangling from the bottom, Gazette photographer Larry Mayer said.
The defense official said that what concerned them about this launch was the altitude at which the balloon was flying and the time it stayed over a location, without providing details.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said he was briefed on the situation Wednesday after the Montana National Guard was notified of an ongoing military operation in Montana airspace, according to a statement from Republican Gov. and spokeswoman Brooke stroyke.
“From the spy balloon to the Chinese Communist Party spying on Americans via TikTok to CCP-linked companies buying up American farmland, I am deeply concerned by the constant stream of developments alarming our national security,” Gianforte said in a statement. release.
Tensions with China are particularly high on numerous issues, ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights in China’s western Xinjiang region and the crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Not least on that list of irritants are China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its refusal to control North Korea’s sprawling ballistic missile program, and ongoing disputes over trade and technology.
On Tuesday, Taiwan activated fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to close operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part of Beijing’s strategy to disrupt and intimidate democracy. autonomous island.
Twenty of those planes crossed the centerline in the Taiwan Strait, which has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides, which parted ways during a civil war in 1949.
Beijing has also increased preparations for a possible blockade or military action against Taiwan, prompting growing concern among US military leaders, diplomats and elected officials, Taiwan’s key ally.
NBC News first reported on the surveillance balloon.
Some Montana residents reported seeing an unusual object in the sky around airport closing time Wednesday, but it’s unclear if what they were seeing was the balloon.
From an office window in Billings, Chase Doak said he saw a “big white circle in the sky” that he said was too small to be the moon.
He took a few photos, then ran home to get a camera with a stronger lens and took more photos and videos. She was able to see it for about 45 minutes and it appeared stationary, but Doak said the video suggested it was moving slowly.
“I thought maybe it was a legitimate UFO,” he said. “So I wanted to make sure to document it and take as many photos as I could.”
