Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over Western US airspace: Pentagon

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over US airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday.

A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has very high confidence it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and 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 Pentagon announcement comes days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China. It's not clear if this will affect his travel plans, which the State Department has not formally announced.
 

What’s a surveillance balloon?

Cheap, quiet and hard to reach — balloons have long been used for reconnaissance purposes.

The practice became widespread during World War I. Their use has declined with the rise of satellites. Modern balloons are unmanned.  

What do we know about the balloon floating over the US?

The US said it was spotted earlier in the week and most recently seen floating more than 40,000 feet over Montana. The state is home to the Air Force’s  Missile Wing and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Is the balloon a security threat? 

Details on the exact capabilities of this particular balloon are unclear. It has a limited ability to collect meaningful intelligence data, beyond what the Chinese can already gather through their satellite network.

Why has China sent the balloon up now?

The Chinese have for decades complained about US surveillance by ships and spy planes near its territory, leading to confrontations  China says balloon is for research, it accidently strayed.

Why hasn’t the Pentagon shot the balloon down?

US Defence has advised President Biden against shooting the balloon down because of the possible risk of falling debris. It’s floating above the altitude used by civilian aircraft, so is unlikely to pose any danger.

How has the US responded? 

The US had raised the balloon issue with China, and the State Depart -ment had summoned the Chinese charge d’affaires. It wasn’t immediately clear if the incident would affect US’s state secy Blinken’s planned trip to China.