China, US tensions rise over suspected Chinese spy balloon
BEIJING (AP) — The US was tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over American airspace, and China said Friday that it would look into those reports, as the discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
The Pentagon decided not to shoot down the balloon, which was potentially flying over sensitive sites, because of concerns of hurting people on the ground.
The news came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to make his first trip to Beijing this weekend. The visit has not been formally announced, and it was not immediately clear if the balloon’s discovery would affect his travel plans.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had no information on the trip. But she said China has “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country” and urged calm while the facts are established.
Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, on a mission to mitigate a sharp downturn in relations between the countries amid trade disputes and concerns about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea.
A senior American defence official told Pentagon reporters Thursday that the US has “very high confidence” that the object spotted over US airspace in recent days was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and that it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
The defence official said the US has assessed that the balloon has “limited” value in terms of providing intelligence that couldn’t be obtained by other technologies, such as spy satellites.
It was not clear what will happen with the balloon if it isn’t brought down.
Mao said China was working to understand the situation in the hopes “that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully.”
“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international laws, and China has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country,” she said.
A day earlier, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years and the government has taken steps to ensure no sensitive information was stolen.
He said the balloon was traveling well above the height commercial aircraft fly at and didn’t present a threat to people on the ground.