The United States detects a Chinese spy balloon over its territory

The Pentagon has been tracking the movements of a Chinese spy balloon flying over US territory and sensitive military sites for several days, an episode that has heightened tensions between the two rival superpowers just days before a planned visit by US diplomat Antony Blinken. , to China.

At the request of President Joe Biden, the Pentagon considered shooting down the balloondetected for about two days, but the decision was made not to do so due to the risks posed by the remains to people on the ground, a senior US defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity on Thursday. .

“We have no doubt that the balloon originated in China”he claimed.

“We are taking measures to protect ourselves against the collection of sensitive information,” he said, while stressing the “limited added value in terms of information collection” of the device, described as a fairly large balloon.

“We considered it large enough that the debris would have caused damage” if it had been shot down in a populated area, the same source said.

Canada joins spy balloon surveillance

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said the US-Canadian Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) was monitoring the balloon’s trajectory.

“The balloon is currently flying at a altitude much higher than that of commercial air traffic. It poses no military or physical threat to those on the ground,” he said in a statement.

“Clearly, this balloon is intended for surveillance and your current trajectory takes you over sensitive sitesincluding airbases and strategic missile silos, the US official said, referring to the northwestern US state of Montana.

The balloon entered US airspace “about two days ago” but was already being monitored by US intelligence services, the source said, adding that it was not the first time the US military had seen such an intrusion.

This time, however, the balloon stayed in American airspace much longer.

When President Biden was informed, he immediately asked his Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, who was in the Philippines on Wednesday, to give him options. Austin then held talks with the Pentagon chiefs of staff.

Fighter planes approached the artifact over Montana, according to the same source.

Washington tells China it will “do whatever it takes” to protect Americans

Washington has raised the matter with the Chinese authorities.

“We have communicated to them the seriousness of the incident,” the US official said. “We have made it clear to them that we will do whatever it takes to protect our people on our soil.”

The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, denounced on Thursday night a “destabilizing action” by a China that “blatantly disregards the sovereignty of the United States.”

He called on Joe Biden “not to keep quiet” and asked that members of Congress be informed.

Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to China on Sunday

Antony Blinken’s trip to China, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, will be the first visit to the country by a US secretary of state since October 2018.

In November, Biden met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali, as the two great powers try to prevent tensions between them from escalating into open conflict.

Among the many points of contention are Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, and China’s activities in Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, Lloyd Austin signed agreements on Thursday to bolster the US military presence there in the face of China’s growing power.

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