According to a senior defense official, the Defense Department is "certain" that a balloon seen above Montana is a Chinese surveillance balloon.
China, Canada
According to the person, President Biden has been updated on the issue and the United States has communicated with Chinese authorities "urgently."
A U.S. official said that Washington has spoken with Beijing directly about the situation on several levels. This was stated on Friday morning. In response to a formal U.S. complaint, a Chinese official was called to the State Department.
According to a senior defense official, the Defense Department is "certain" that a balloon seen above Montana is a Chinese surveillance balloon.
According to the person, President Biden has been updated on the issue and the United States has communicated with Chinese authorities "urgently."
A U.S. official said that Washington has spoken with Beijing directly about the situation on several levels. This was stated on Friday morning. In response to a formal U.S. complaint, a Chinese official was called to the State Department.
According to a senior defense official, the Defense Department is "certain" that a balloon seen above Montana is a Chinese surveillance balloon.
According to the person, President Biden has been updated on the issue and the United States has communicated with Chinese authorities "urgently."
A U.S. official said that Washington has spoken with Beijing directly about the situation on several levels. This was stated on Friday morning. In response to a formal U.S. complaint, a Chinese official was called to the State Department.
The balloon is "currently sailing at an altitude much above commercial air traffic and does not provide a military or physical threat to anyone on the ground," according to Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, spokesperson for the Pentagon. The balloon over Montana, a U.S. official told CBS News on Friday, "is not traveling very rapidly."
Friday, the foreign ministry of China stated: "Before the facts are known, speculation and exaggeration do not help solve the matter. We are finding out how this matter is being verified. We hope that all parties can manage the situation coolly and sensibly."
Speaking on behalf of the foreign ministry, Mas Ning stated that she was unaware of any updates on the status of Antony Blinken's scheduled visit to China later this month.
In light of the heightened hostilities between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, trade, and other problems, Blinken would be the most senior member of the Biden administration to visit China.
The balloon had been "detected," according to a statement from Canada's Department of National Defence (DND), which didn't specify what that event may be. Canada also claimed that it was "taking efforts to safeguard the security of its airspace, including the surveillance of a potential second incident."
The United States, according to CBS News, hasn't been able to corroborate the potential existence of the second balloon that was stated in the Canadian announcement.
According to the Canadian DND, the North American Aerospace Defense Command was "actively" following the first balloon.
According to a U.S. official who spoke to CBS News, the balloon was traveling at a height of around 66,000 feet. Although it can be adjusted, the jet stream might ultimately take it outside of American airspace, the official added.
In Montana, there are silos that can contain intercontinental ballistic missiles, so jet fighters were dispatched to be ready to shoot the balloon down.
Even though situations like these have occurred previously, none have ever lasted this long, a defense official said. The balloon reached U.S. continental airspace a few days ago, and the U.S. has been monitoring it "for quite some time," the official added.
According to a senior defense official, the Pentagon's current best estimate is that China's ability to gather information through other channels, such as satellites in low Earth orbit, is not significantly increased by the monitoring capabilities of the balloon. The Pentagon has added additional mitigating measures to protect some installations out of an excess of caution.
A U.S. official told CBS News that there are other options than shooting it down, such electronically blocking the signals it is returning.
The American government, according to Ryder, "will follow and watch it closely."
On Thursday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted that President Biden "cannot remain mute" in the face of China's flagrant disdain for American sovereignty.
He added, referring to the bipartisan group of eight congressional leaders entrusted with assessing national security data, "I am seeking a Gang of Eight briefing."
China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent.I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing. https://t.co/KarTCUzbOS— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) February 3, 2023
The administration met Gang of 8 staff members in the afternoon "to convey this material to Congress swiftly and provided more briefings," a U.S. official told AntsyNews on Thursday.
In a statement released on Thursday, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte stated that he had "received an informational briefing" on Wednesday regarding the circumstances surrounding a possible Chinese spy balloon that was flying over Montana. He also stated that he was "deeply troubled by the constant stream of alarming developments for our national security."